


Only Him

by JMRabbit13



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Amnesia, Blood Drinking, F/M, Family Bonding, Growing Up, Mama Reiji, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-04-25 12:36:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14378787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMRabbit13/pseuds/JMRabbit13
Summary: She loved all of them. The Sakamakis became her family when she was forced to live with them when she was five years old. They were never stable, and the only thing that kept them from killing her was her blood. And in the end she still loved them all. But none as much as she loved the youngest son. The troubled son. The gentle son. The tempered son. It was only to him that she'd give up everything.





	1. Awaken

It was quiet, too quiet. She didn't like it one bit. She hated the never ending darkness that swirled around her, and she hated the absolute emptiness. It made her sick, and it made her want to cry. Only four years old, but she knew that this was something hellish. So young, but she knew that a scene like this could make grown men tremble in terror.

She was alone, cold, and afraid. She was afraid of the darkness. She hated the silence. And she, more than anything else, wanted someone, _anyone_ , to come for her, to save her.

All Rin wanted, as she stared down this empty black hole of hers, was for the warmth of someone else.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Then, it wasn't as dark, and it wasn't silent. It was a little cold, but no longer empty. She heard the quiet sounds of bicker somewhere away from her. She couldn't make out the words, or even what kind of person they sounded like.

Her body felt heavy, and her lids too tired, but she wanted to know what was happening. It was a combination of childlike curiosity and pure desperation to no longer be alone that made her force herself to wake up from her drowsiness.

After a while she felt her brows knit, and she could slightly make out that the voices around her seemed male. However, once she began to open her eyes it became silent. Silently afraid that when she opened her eyes she wouldn't see anyone, she sat upright, and began to wipe away the tiredness from her eyes-slightly realizing that she was sitting on a large bed.

Once she felt her eyes able to open properly, she looked up curiously to see what stood before her.

And, the first thing that caught her attention were the four boys around her, and their eyes were all locked on her. After blinking a few times, she also noticed the room itself. It was large, and looked more like the room of a princess. The main colors of the room seemed to be a pale pink and white. The bed she sat on was not only four times her size, but had layers of warm blankets and piles of soft pillows.

It was… weird. Somehow the sight of luxury was very foreign to her, and it made her a bit uncomfortable.

As for the boys… They weren't exactly the… _nicest_ looking people at first glance. They all looked unapproachable in their own ways, but… she didn't feel uncomfortable. In fact, something about them seemed fine to her. If she were to play off the suspicious setting in her head it wouldn't seem right, and even dangerous. However, somehow, in some way, looking at them all, she didn't feel scared.

A dark haired boy from the group walked up to her side, and, in response, she turned herself to have her small legs dangle off the side of the bed. She quickly looked down at herself and noticed she was wearing a knee high white nightgown. Looking back up to the boy that loomed over her, she tilted her head slight. She could feel her eyes grow out of interest as she stared up into his dark pink eyes, and her slightly curled hand went up to rest at her lips.

He pushed up his glasses as he continued to looked down at her-as though he were examining her. "Your name is Rin, correct?"

She thought about it, about the name 'Rin', and it held familiarity to her-somewhere in her blank mind. However, she really couldn't grasp it, as though the name itself were nothing but air.

Absentmindedly, she just shrugged her shoulders, slightly eyeing the man's suit.

Her answer seemed to annoy him because his eyes narrowed down at her-more than earlier. "I'd suggest you take your hand away from your mouth and answer properly."

His tone became threatening, but the only reaction she could have was flinching because she realized she _is_ doing that. As though he didn't look deadly in anyway, she put her hand down to her lap and looked directly into his eyes. "I don't know my name." She answered, sounding slightly proud at now answering 'properly'.

The man still seemed slightly annoyed, but he also seemed interested. "So that's how it is? What do you remember?"

She thought about it again, and her mouth began to spew words without herself really thinking about it. "I remember being somewhere dark, and I was alone."

His brows furrowed thoughtfully at her reply, and she tried to understand why he looked so interested.

"So, not only do we have to babysit, but the kid has amnesia too?" She blinked slightly at the annoyed voice.

She looked over her shoulder to see-sitting on the window seat-was a red haired male with glowing green eyes that stared right back at her. Her only response was her head tilting slightly to the side at the accusation.

"Ayato, it's rude to talk about a guest as though they aren't here." She looked back to the black haired man as he sounded annoyed.

"So! Ore-sama didn't ask to have to deal with some brat in the house!" She looked _back_ to the red head boy-Ayato.

"It's orders. If you have a problem with it then I suggest you bring it up to father, but we both know how that will turn." She looked _back_ to the black haired man.

There was just a silence as the two sort of just glared at each other, and confused on what to do, she just raised her small pale hand.

She noticed both boys look at her kind of confused, and she heard a little snicker from one of the other boys she had yet to put her attention on.

Finally, the black haired man just let out a quiet sigh and kept his eyes locked on hers. "What?"

"Why am I here?"

He just looked at her for a moment, as though he were thinking about an answer.

"You're here because you'll now be living with us~." Said a soft behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and saw a man with orange hair sitting comfortable where she had slept. His green eyes were burning right into her, and she felt herself gasp.

"From now on you get to be our little sister, isn't that nice~?"

Behind him Ayato began at it to deny that statement, but she cut him off by turned around to face the orange haired man with her eyes large and sparkling. "Wow!" A big smile managed to grow at her lips as she looked up at the smiling man. "You're so pretty!" She spoke happily as her hands clasped together at her chest.

His eyes slightly widened at her, but quickly he just laughed at what she said and leaned in just a little closer to her. "Well you're quite nice looking yourself~." His hand began to move forward to touch her cheek-nothing she would have minded. "So cute~. In a few years you'll be-... Oh~."

For a moment she was confused as to how she was suddenly not so close to the orange haired man, or how she wasn't even on her bed anymore.

Slightly surprised, she looked down to find that her feet were dangling over the floor, and she felt the arm around her chest that kept her up as such. She looked up to find the person holding her and she saw it was a blonde man with blue eyes barely opened.

He just looked at the orange haired man-looking amused on the bed-with a blank look.

"Shuu-kun actually moved from his spot on the couch? How odd~."

She just stared for a moment until she realized something. She looked back up at her capturer-Shuu-and she noticed the earbuds. "What're you listening to?"

Shuu gave her a blank look that she found very hard to read. "Music."

For a moment she was only silent, but soon enough she just laughed happily at the response. 'Well, he is.' She thought with amusement.

In response, he gave her a look of slight confusion.

"Ahem."

Her ears perked up at the sound of the black haired man's voice again. Curiously she looked over at him as he looked at Shuu with a look of...disgust?

"Shuu, would you put our guest down now?"

She was about to protest that she didn't mind being held up like this. However, with their eyes locked together in a sort of aggressive way, she felt Shuu lower her down to the floor.

Once his arms were gone she immediately looked up to the black haired man, and curiously waited for what he would say next.

Looking up to him he pushed up his glasses again at her. "I suppose I should give an introduction. This isn't all of us, and I was hoping by now that the other two would have been here when I did, but there's no help in delaying." Rin could only tilt her head again at him, but tried to keep her ears open for him. However, he made yet another disgusted look. "The one that was just holding you, that's the eldest sone Shuu."

'Son?' She thought to herself as she looked back behind her, but, to her surprise he wasn't there. She looked to the corner of the room, and there Shuu was, lying on the couch. He seemed asleep.

"I," she looked back up to him, "am the second son Reiji."

"Reiji…" She quietly murmured.

He seemed to just ignore her. "By the window is the third son, Ayato."

'The red haired one.'

"On your bed," he said slightly annoyed, "is the fifth son Laito."

'The pretty one.'

"The fourth and sixth sons are absent, their names are Kanato and Subaru."

"Sorry, little one~. But, they're a little shy."

She looked back to the pretty one-Laito-and saw him smiling at her happily from her bed.

" _And_ ," she flinched at the tone of Reiji's voice and looked back up to him, "you will now be living with us. It's an order that was sent by our father, so we're not only to look after you, but to also make sure you don't die."

Rin thought about it for a moment, and she thought she kind of got it. With a smile on her face she continued to look up at him. "Does that mean that I can be in your family?!" She felt her little heart race at the thought. She had no memory of whether or not she had one in the past, but the point was that she wanted one now. Even if it were a pack of wolves, she wanted a 'family'.

Reiji's eyes slightly widened at the comment. "That's-"

"Well I did say that you get to be our little sister, didn't I, Rin-chan~?"

Right next to her appeared a crouched Laito as he looked at her with interest.

In response, her smile grew, and her hands went up to clasp at her chest again. "Then, can I call you Onee-chan?" 'He's pretty like a girl.' She thought with awe.

As Laito's eyes slightly widened at the question-they all seemed to keep doing that-she heard laughter to her other side. She looked up and watched the red headed one-Ayato-laugh as though he had heard a funny joke, but she didn't get it.

"What do you say, Laito? You gonna become her big _sister_?" He started laughing again.

However, Laito only grew a nice smile as before as he got back up to his feet. "Say what you will Ayato-kun, but any title from a girl as cute as her is fine. Besides," he looked back down at her, "Rin-chan, what do you think Ayato is-if I'm 'Onee-chan'?"

She tilted her head slightly at the question, and looked up at the Ayato.

"Huh? Obviously 'Ore-sama.'"

She looked at his messy hair, his messy clothes, his superior way of carrying himself, and then it really clicked in her head once she looked at his slit, deep green eyes.

She pointed up at him with a smile on her face, and said, "Neko!"

It was Laito's turn to laugh, but this time Ayato looked rather mad at the both of them.

"Oi, shut up! And you," he looked down at her confused face, "what the hell do you mean 'neko?'"

"That's enough." She looked back to Reiji, and saw that he didn't look pleased-not that he did to begin with. "Rin," For a moment she was confused why he said that, but then she remembered it's her new name, "dinner will be ready in three hours, so hurry up and get dressed before then. And the rest of you leave, it's frowned upon to have men linger in a room as a girl is changing."


	2. Kanato

It was the first time in what felt like forever that she looked at herself.

She looked fairly pale, but compared to the boys she was darker. She had a round face that was framed by raven curls that fell to her midback. Her hair looked quite messy, but she didn't know what she could do to fix it since the left side of her head was puffed up a little more at her attempt to brush it.

Looking back at herself felt very foreign. It felt as though she weren't even familiar with the person looking back at her. But, she knew for a fact that she was looking in a mirror. That didn't change how odd it all felt. It didn't feel like _her_ … Though, if she thought about it enough, it felt closer to looking at someone she knew a long time ago… Maybe.

And, she did like something about herself, her eyes. They were a pair of dark teal, dark enough that they are easily noticeable, but still light enough to clearly tell the color. She liked them very much, and thought they were almost as pretty as Laito's.

Though, she didn't know how she felt about the fact that the only clothes she could find were ones that seemed to be for a more...ladylike person. There were ball gowns, collar shirts, ties, slacks, black and blue skirts, and black shoes polished to the point that she could see herself in them.

In the end, she just settled for a knee high black and white dress with a small plaid pattern. The only reason she settled was because it was the only thing that didn't have frills, layers, or bright pink. She also like that it had a round skirt, so she could move more easily. As for shoes she just decided to go bare foot since every other pair was horribly uncomfortable.

So, taking a little twirl-happy with the spin of the skirt-she gave a little hop and walked over to the door. Taking a quick glance at the two handed clock hanging on her wall, she saw about twenty minutes had passed.

'He… Re… Reji-REIJI! Reiji said three hours, so I have… I have… A lot of time!' She thought with a happy grin, and dashed out her door.

Not even bothering to open the door she trailed down the fancily decorated hall and waited until she ran into someone. She had looked out her window and saw how high she was, meaning the building she was in was big, meaning there's a lot of room for people, meaning there should be more people… But, it seemed empty. Painfully empty...

She began to slightly remember the farthest her memories could take her. Somewhere that was cold and dark, and where she was left all alone. Despite having saw them not too long ago, she was suddenly worried that she'd somehow made them up, and that… And that she was really alone again… She… She didn't want to-

"Rin-chan~."

Her heart ceased to plummet, and she turned around-not fazed as to how he came out of nowhere-and smiled up at Laito.

"Laito~." She happily chirped up at him as he smiled down at her.

"No more 'Onee-chan?'"

She just shook her head-her smile having trouble going away. "Nope, 'cause Ayato was laughing at you." She said it as though it were a simply matter of fact.

Laito somehow just seemed amused by what she said, and he leaned down to her and reached out his hand to her.

She just blinked up at him as he grasped some of her hair in his hand. "If Reiji-kun sees your hair like this he won't be very happy."

She thought about it, and, with the image of Reiji in her head, thought about how she didn't want to make him upset. "I tried to brush it, but it only got worse."

To this, Laito's smile grew, and he got down to his knees-coming eye to eye with her. "Turn around."

"Ok." She said with no worry, and spun herself around.

As soon as she had her back to him she felt his hands grab at her hair, and she felt him moving it all around. She didn't know what he was doing, but she didn't really think much of it either. She was just enjoying the attention of another for the moment.

"Laito?"

"Yes~."

"How long until dinner?"

"In about two hours."

'Oh.' She thought happily. She had been quietly fantasizing about what could possibly be ready for dinner ever since it was first mentioned. She didn't quite know what different kinds of food there were, but she did feel a longing in her mouth and stomach.

"All done~." Laito's voice snapped her out of her blurry fantasies of food.

Then, she touched at the back at her head and felt a tight braid, and wondered how he did it with all the puff. Either way she appreciated it, and decided to look at it in a mirror as soon as she ran into one. She felt it from top to bottom, and there was no stray hair. It was perfectly done.

She turned around to a waiting Laito and gave him a big toothy smile. "Thank you, Laito~!"

"It was my pleasure, Rin-chan's hair is messy, but it's so soft~. How about I'll brush it for you later."

To this her teal eyes lit up, and she looked at him with admiration. "Really~?!"

"Yup~."

"Thank you so much, Laito~!" Then she lunged at him and gave him a large hug.

She decided out of all the boys she'd met, Laito was her favorite.

With her in his arms, Laito stood up and she giggled happily at the feeling of being picked up.

"Oh!" Remembering what she thought about while dressing she looked down at her carrier and gave him a hopeful look. "Laito, can I meet Kanato and Subaru?" She was curious to the rest of her new 'family.'

Laito gave her a thoughtful look. "I could show you where Kanato-kun is, and Subaru can be saved for later."

"Then I can meet Kanato?"

"You'll have to be careful, because Kanato is a difficult person."

She wasn't worried by the warning much, and it didn't help that Laito said it with a smile.

"I will! I will!" She declared proudly.

"Ok, I'll show you Kanato-kun, _if_ …"

She tilted her head confused at him. "' _If_?'"

"If you call me 'Onii-chan'~."

Slightly confused to why that would be the condition, she didn't give a hesitation to smile at him happily and respond. "Ok, Onii-chan~."

Once again confused, she looked as a slight blush came to his face, but thought little of it since he still continued to smile. "Alright then, let's go meet Kanato-kun."

"Yay~!"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Here we go."

Feeling half sad that the piggyback ride was over, and half excited to meet a new person, she looked up and saw that they stood in front of a door that looked about every other door in the manor.

Laito went down on his knees to make it easier to jump off, and once she did she immediately went for the door and smiled up at it.

Before she could reach up to touch the knob, Laito already did it for her, and opened to the door wide to reveal a large room with a darkly soft feeling to it. She also saw a scatter of toys around a tea set in the middle of the room. What made her eyes light up was the sight of a small-compared to the others-boy sitting along with the toys.

He looked angrily at them both as they walked in, and held on tightly to the teddy bear wrapped in his arms. "Why did you disturb my tea party?" He sharply told them.

However, Laito just continued to smile. "Hello, Kanato-kun~. You missed meeting Rin-chan, so I brought her over~."

Kanato looked over at her with a sharp look, and she could tell from a mile away that he wasn't pleased.

Laito slightly gave her a push on her back to move forward, but he didn't need to because she was already moving to get closer-making sure not to step on any of the dolls or stuffed animals.

Kanato was giving her an unpleasant look, but, oddly, she couldn't help but see past it and just think he looked very very very very very very very very cute.

She smiled down at him and extended her hand. "Hi, my name is…" She paused for a moment, realizing she wasn't quite used to her name, and quickly tried to remember it. "Rin! What's yours?"

He just stared at her for a while with a dirty look. He looked at her up and down, as though trying to analyze her. "Why do I have to tell you?" He asked her with a low voice

She-Rin-actually paused and thought about the question seriously. Just when he looked ready to speak again, Rin finally came up with her answer. "...I actually don't know. Reiji and Laito already told me."

He gave her an odd look, but still continued to look impatient. "Then get out."

"But I wanted to meet you." She said, not really acknowledging his bitter look.

Which in turn made him more impatient. "Why? Why did you want to intrude on my tea party?"

She became confused. "I didn't-"

"But you did!"

"...I did didn't I?" She realized.

"Yes, you did!"

"I'm sorry."

"'Sorry'? Sorry is all you say?!"

"No, I said 'I'm sorry.' That's two words."

He gave her another odd look. Well, it was more as though he thought _she_ were odd. "...I don't like you."

"Why?" She said, genuinely curious.

"Because you're weird."

"I am?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, I like you." She spoke with a smile.

"You don't even know me."

"I don't know a lot, but I like what I do."

"What do you even know?!"

"I know that you have purple hair and pretty eyes. I think they look nice~."

His eyes slightly widened at what she said, and she could see that, somehow, he seemed slightly pleased. "...You like my hair?"

"Yup! Very much!"

"I do to."

"You should it's pretty."

"...Teddy says you're weird."

'Teddy?... Oh! It's the bear in his arms!' "He did? Sorry I'm weird Te-"

"Don't talk to him like you know him!"

"Oh, sorry-"

"Stop saying 'sorry!' It's annoying!"

He spoke to her harshly, but she really did just think about what she should say next, as though it were a puzzle. "Hm... Oh! I won't talk to Teddy again, Kanato... What do you want me to call you?" She realized that Laito wanted to be called 'Onii-chan' and that Kanato might have a preference as well.

"Don't you know my name already?"

"Yeah, but do you want me to call you 'Kanato-kun', '-san', '-sama', or just your name?"

He seemed to actually think about it before answering. "... I don't care."

"Than I can call you 'Kanato-chan?'"

He scrunched up his face at the title... But he eventually just nodded. "Mmm."

"Ok! I won't talk to Teddy again, Kanato-chan."

"...Good."

"Kanato-chan?"

"Hm?" He actually began to look genuinely interested in her, now turning his body to give full focus to her.

"Is it ok if I can be your little sister?"

"Why would you want to be?" He tilted his head at her-making her think he's even cuter.

"Because I want a family."

"...Do you want a happy family?"

She paused for a moment, confused to what that meant. "'Happy?'"

"Because if you do, then you don't want this one. We all hate each other."

"Hm…" She thought about it. Reiji didn't look too happy about the others-especially Shuu for some reason. Ayato also seemed pretty mean to them. Something with them didn't feel right about them as soon as he looked at them. It was obvious to even her-five years old-that something about them was wrong. "Ok."

"'Ok?'"

She nodded happily. "Yup. I'm ok with that. As long as I have a family."

"Why?"

"Because it's better than being alone~!"

"...Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"...?" She could only stare at the laughing boy, not sure what she had done or said to have triggered his laughter.

"Hahahahaha-! Oi, why are you staring?" And once over again, he looked at her irritated.

"Cause I don't get the joke."

"It's not a joke, I just think what you said was funny."

"OOOOh!... I don't get it."

"You don't need to."

"Oh, then that's good!"

"...I like you better, but still not a lot." He said while giving her a look as though he were trying to figure her out.

But she remained oblivious, and only smiled down happily at the improvement. "Ok, I'll be fine with that! As long as I can talk to Kanato-chan~!" She was happy, she really was. She'd met another new person. More people meant less likeliness of being in the dark again, of being alone again, and of feeling that horrible cold she had what now felt so long ago. "Well," she finally concluded, "it was nice meeting you, Kanato-chan, but I have to go meet…" She trailed off, now realizing she'd forgotten the name…

She turned to face Laito with a tilted head. "Onii-chan, what was his name again?"

Laito looked pleased at her calling him that, and smiled at her. "'Subaru.'"

With a smile, she turned back to Kanato. "Yeah, him."

To this, Kanato looked upset once again-she wondered why he flip-flopped so much. "I don't like him."

Her smile didn't waver in the least. "I know, you told me you hate all of them already." She said, not quite understanding what it meant to hate.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Sorry, Rin-chan~." Laito said without actually sounding sorry.

Rin pouted up at him as he looked at his phone. "Why do you have to go?"

Laito snapped his phone and looked down at her with his lips curling the same way when he smiled, but his eyes-in a way she couldn't understanded-somehow seemed different. A finger went up to his lips and a secretive sort of way as he gave her a little wink. "Something I might tell you about when you're older, Rin-chan~."

She blinked up at him not quite knowing what his tone meant, and even gave him a slight tilt of her head.

"Besides, Subaru shouldn't be too far." He looked forward, and Rin followed his gaze to the entrance of the rose garden. "This is his favorite place to be, so he'll come as soon as he notices someone else in his territory."

At that phrasing, Rin felt a little excited. Somehow, she began picturing a big dog with snarling teeth and messy hair. Oddly, all she wanted to do was pet it.

"Well, bye bye, Rin-chan~."

Rin turned around to say her farewells, but saw that Laito was already gone. She blinked at the empty space, and felt a little sad at the loneliness again.

Then, she just turned back and began to walk down to path, hoping she'd find 'Subaru' soon.

Somehow, just the thought of being left alone for too long made her terrified that she'd be left all alone again in that horrible pit of black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHHHHHHHHHH! I DON'T KNOW IF I DID KANATO RIGHT!... Anyways~. Please Review :)


	3. Falling

The garden was mind numbingly larger than Rin had originally thought it was. She was slowly growing more and more scared. She was left alone again, and she couldn't help but be upset with Laito. Yes, she'd hardly met him, but she was still hurt that he'd leave her alone.

Rin took a small gulp as her hands naturally found their way to the hem of her dress, and she looked left and right, forward and back, but no one was there.

"Excuse me! Is someone named… named… Is anyone here?!" She yelled, realizing she'd forgotten the name of the person she was looking for again.

'Is he really here?' She thought, growing more and more doubtful and worried.

Rin probably wasn't there for that long, but that didn't change how much she hated this. She didn't like this loneliness, she didn't want to go back to that endless darkness.

What worried her most was that she didn't even know how she got out of it. Which meant she also didn't know how she'd get back in there. For all she knew, taking a single wrong step would send her right back into that nightmare. For all she knew, she never actually escaped it.

Her stomach noted in itself, and Rin felt a stinging in her eyes. However, she got both her hands, and lightly slapped her cheeks. After a few light slaps, she gave her head a good shake. She tried to calm herself down. It was her that said she wanted to meet this other boy, so she'll just go ahead, and once she finds him, she'll be fine. It didn't matter if it turns out he's horrible or friendly, as long as she was with someone.

Then, she saw a stone statue, and she had an idea. She was a child, which meant she was short, which meant it was harder to see, which meant she should try getting higher.

Rin dashed over to the with a slight hope boiling in her chest. Once she got to it, she immediately started climbing up on it, remembering how cold her bare feet were when they touched the stone. She was careful, but she was also quick. Somehow, climbing came a bit natural to her small feeble hands.

Eventually she was at the top and clung tightly to what she realized was supposed to be a head. She looked forward, and saw more of the area better. However, other than the flowers-that she paid little mind to-there was no other form of life.

She felt her heart constrict on itself at seeing she was alone again. Not only that, but she suddenly became very aware to the fact that it was a cloudy night. There were no stars, moon, or any other light. It was dark. It was cold. It was empty.

She tried to take a deep breath, but found her lungs still being pounding by her heart.

"Hello! Is anyone there?!"

There was no reply, there wasn't anything. Rin couldn't even hear so much as a rustle of wind. She began to shiver, and not just because of her freezing feet and hands. She quietly sniffed.

"HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?!"

But again, no reply.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

It was just like back then.

She was going back to that time not too long ago.

After she'd just awaken.

After she'd _just_ met new people.

After she'd finally gotten a family.

She wanted to get to know them.

She wanted to no longer have to be alone.

All alone… Like she'd always been.

"HELLO-!"

She had leaned a little too much. The statue was too tall. She lost her balance.

She'd begun to fall.

. . . "Ahh-." Then she felt it, right when she about to scream.

Something cold and strong. Similar to what she felt not too long ago. Someone was holding her. An arm was wrapped around her small frame, and her face was burried into a hard chest.

For a moment she could only blink, wondering what had happened.

Then, Rin looked up, and saw who it was.

He looked about as old as the other boys. He had fluffy looking hair that was pure white with tinted pink. It looked so soft that she wanted to actually reach out and touch it. What took her off guard most were his eyes. They were the deepest shade of red she could ever imagine. They really were beautiful.

"Oi." She didn't react to the annoyance in his tone, she could only continue to stare at him. "What the hell were you doing? Not only were you being too loud but you actually went and nearly killed yourself?"

She blinked up at him. He was a person. He was right here holding her. He didn't seem all that nice, and he was physically cold, but he was real.

"Are you even listenin-?"

Rin couldn't help it. She was afraid, too afraid that she was really a goner. That she was really going to be alone. That she'd really have to live another go at that place that was too… hollow.

So, she began to cry. She cried and cried and cried. She wailed loudly, and buried her face into his chest to try and better feel his existence. She also felt her small hands curl up tightly into his tattered shirt.

She didn't want to let go of him, and she didn't want to go back to being alone. That's _all_ she wanted, that's all she asked for.

Rin never wanted to be alone again.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

He really had no idea what to do. He heard yelling earlier, but he just ignored it, thinking it would either go away or someone else would come and deal with it. But, after not even a second he heard her yelling suddenly cut off, and the quiet sound of wind from her falling.

… He just wasn't going to be held responsible for the brat dying, so he just went ahead and got her before she slammed her head on anything.

Yes, she was about to get very intimate with something hard, but he didn't expect her to go off and start crying. She was clinging to him as tightly as a human child could, and he could feel his shirt get more and more wet with her tears.

...He just sighed, and decided to take a seat and wait until she was done-she didn't seem to notice.

It's not as though he comforted her, he just let her go off and let it out.

'Is this the kid Reiji kept talking about?' He wondered, realizing he wasn't listening all that much when Reiji was giving out the details.

All he knew was that she was here because she had special blood. He could already tell since her blood had no scent-it was almost creepy. But, apparently it's also supposed to be able to burn the skin of vampires like acid to humans.

So, their father being the way he is, dumped her on them to study her-even though Reiji will be doing all the work.

And then the rest he didn't bother with.

Looking at the girl now, he didn't expect her to be so small. Course, he never spent much time with kids.

'So she's the one that's going to live with us. If it weren't for her blood, she'd be dead before anyone knew it.' He thought, being very aware to her soft, tearable skin, and her fragile, breakable bones.

She was only a child, but she had already been cursed to live with them of all people.

Finally, she took her last sniffs, and started to pull away from his chest, and he looked down to her.

She used her arm to wipe off at her moist eyes, and then she shook her head lightly before looking back up at him with bloodshot eyes.

...She was just staring up at him.

… "What?" He asked, finally annoyed with her quiet stare.

However, like before, she seemed not to care about his irritated tone-or she didn't notice. "What's your name?"

… "Why?"

"'Cause, Onii-chan told me someone would be here, but I don't remember the name of person I'm looking for."

'Onii-chan? There's another one?' "Subaru."

Then, to his surprise, her eyes-still slightly red-lit up with enthusiasm and a smile began to grow on her face. 'Wasn't she just crying a minute ago?'

"Yeah! That's the name!" Then her eyes slightly widened as though she were remembering something, and her eyes fell on his shirt. She looked back up at him with guilty eyes. "I'm sorry that I got your shirt dirty." Her little hand went up to her lips, and she looked pitifully ashamed.

..."It's fine." He mumbled.

To which the little girl's bright teal eyes-now gone of red-lit up happily. "Yay! Ne, Subaru-Oh Subaru!" She looked similar to an excited pup.

"What?"

"What do you want me to call you?"

… "Huh?"

"Kanato said it's ok if I call him Kanato-chan. But what does Subaru want me to call him?"

"...I really don't care."

"Oh. Then can I call you Subaru-cha-?"

"No!" He immediately growled.

But, again, like before, she didn't so much as flinch. "Ok. Then, Onii-cha-"

"No." He said, this time with a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Oh…" She looked up, and put a finger to her chin, lost in thought. Until, her eyes snapped open with an idea. So, she looked back up at him with a large smile. "Then, Subaru-kun!"

… He didn't particularly care about it-in fact it annoyed him since it's what certain annoying people called him. But, she kept looking up at him with those big eyes…

...Subaru pressed his lips together, and just looked a little to the side-not wanting to look her straight in the eyes. "Go ahead" He mumbled.

"Ok, Subaru-kun~!" She sang in a happy voice-somehow annoying him. "My name is Rin, and I'm going to be your little sister."

To that, Subaru snapped his eyes to her confused. "Little sister?"  
Rin just nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! That's what Onii-chan said."

"Who the hell is your older brother?"

Rin returned to confused look. "You know him don't you Subaru-kun? It's Laito."

Right after she said that Subaru felt a vein pop in his forehead, and the image of the pervert laughing came to mind-sending an uncomfortable chill down his back.

"Is he into little girls now?" He murmured darkly under his breath.

"What was that, Subaru-kun?"

He looked down at the very young girl sitting on his lap with her head slightly tilted. Then, he thought about the pervert. Then, he thought about how small and fragile she is. Then, he thought about the pervert. Then, he thought about how she was an innocent child that had no idea of adult things. Then, he thought about the pervert.

Finally, he gripped on her shoulders, and leaned in closer to her-looking extremely pissed off. "You're not allowed to call him that anymore." He growled.

However, yet again to his surprised, Rin showed no reaction other than mild confusion. "How come?"

"Because I said so." He said with a slight twitch.

She looked slightly guilty. "Really? But I even promised him." Then she began to look lost in her own thoughts.

"I don't care. That damn bastard is just a pervert that _apparently_ has stooped down to this level." He continued to mumble with a certain _aura_ floating around him.

"Well…" Rin just said, seeming to not have noticed a single word Subaru was spewing, and looked back up at him with a little smile. "I guess I can just call him Laito-kun."

Somehow this little girl's attitude was bugging him. Maybe it was because he's just not used to someone like this, and she was actually the norm he hardly ever hung around. Maybe it was just the matter of her little ignorant bliss while she was in the position she was in. Or, maybe it was just annoying knowing what would happen to this little purity of hers.

"You should just stay away from him in general."

She tilted her head slightly at him. "Why? I actually think he's really nice."

He just stared at her for a moment. She was really young, she looked around six, and here she was oblivious to what was really happening around her. She's in a place that will only hurt her, but she's too young and naive to even so much as get that. 'Is this something kids just do?' He thought to himself. 'Try to cling to people without even knowing them?' Somehow, this thought also annoyed him.

He lightly gripped her small, chin-letting go of both her shoulders-and made her look up at him directly in the eyes, and she just went along unguarded. She blinked up at him with those big round eyes that reflected off the light of the moon nicely. 'A child like this will easily break. Just like we all did.'

"This isn't a happy world. It's not a place someone like you should linger in too long. As far as lethal danger, you should be safe, but you'll find yourself losing yourself. There's no happy ending, or beautiful moments in a place like this. It's only an endless pit of darkness and savagery. So, if you're looking for a happy family, you've found the wrong place."

He watched her carefully as her eyes widened in the slightest at him, and whatever laid behind those teal irises remained unreadable to him. "..." She just stared at him, and, "Haha~." She let out a little giggles-completely taking Subaru off guard. "Kanato-chan said something like that too. He said that you guys all hate each other. But that's ok."

'That's ok?' He thought bewildered to himself. "Weren't you listening?" His temper slightly flared-thinking she really didn't hear a single word of his.

However, she only nodded with a cheerful smile still plastered to her face. "Uh-huh!"

It just kept bugging him. She was really taking it all half-assed, and wasn't giving it a proper thought. She's in a dangerous place, but it kept going in one ear and out the other.

He's trying to warn her, but for some reason she didn't seem to get it. "So then why are you still unconcerned. Do you even know what we all are?!"

She just tilted her head once again confused at the question. "People?" She said, but in no way sounded confident in her answer.

'They never told her?' He thought, even more annoyed now. 'Why the hell haven't they told her?'

Then, he began to realize, that maybe the whole reason she wasn't as scared as she should be was because she didn't know just how bad it was. She didn't know that this so called 'family' she was getting was nothing but a bunch of monsters. She wasn't scared because she really didn't know.

"...We're vampires."

Her eyes snapped open wide until they were perfect round circles. For a moment she looked absolutely speachless. "...Vampires…" She whispered quietly to no one in particular.

'So, that was the case huh? The kid really didn't kno-'

"That's so cool!" Immediately her eyes lit up with excitement, and her little hands turned into fists as they went up to her chest.

Subaru was caught dumbfounded, and realized that her lack of fear wasn't because she didn't get it, it was because she was an idiot.

Despite his surprised expression, however, Rin's eyes continued to be lit up like the morning sky as her smile didn't shrink. "So you guys can drink blood right?! Can you also fly?! What about turning into bats?! Oh, or maybe you can-Mmmm mm m mmm."

Out of pure annoyance, Subaru could only cover her little mouth with his large hand to stop her nonsensical rambling. He's really never delt with kids before in his life, but he was starting to doubt that they all acted like this.

"Why the hell are you acting like this?!" He yelled at her, finally losing it at her ridiculous act of not understanding even the slightest thing to her position. It's not something to be so happy over and celebrate. "Do you not understand your situation!? You're acting like you're not afraid!" 'What the hell is wrong with this girl?' Subaru thought furiously.

In no way was this a good thing for her. She's in a house full of _vampires_ , and instead of having the proper reaction and be afraid of it, she only gets herself more excited over it.

"M MMMM." After realizing she'd keep this up despite his hand over her mouth he just removed it and let her talk. "It's 'cause I'm not." She said very matter of factly.

...Subaru wasn't annoyed this time. He finally saw it. It didn't matter how many times he told her over and over again how dangerous of a situation she was in, or if he told her she'd die, she'd accept it. She didn't seem able to quite grasp what it meant to die or hate, but somewhere in her she did. She had been listening. She knew what he was trying to tell her, but for some reason it really meant nothing to her. Why was that? Why is she so unreactive to these words of his? Was it because she was brave, or because she was stupid?

"...Then what does scare you?" What could possibly scare a child like this?

And, with no hesitation at all, she went off and said, "I don't like to be alone."

"Alone?"

This time, she actually thought about it. And, this time, she didn't seem happy. "Well, I've only been awake for a while, and I don't remember much but… But I know that I don't like to be alone." Her eyes lost their shine, and they stared absentmindedly forward without actually seeing. She was lost somewhere else, and to see her in such a state was nothing short of unsettling. "The only thing I can remember is this really dark place… It was dark and cold and it was really really really lonely… I don't like that place, not even a little bit…"

...The longer she spoke, the quieter her voice got, the shakier her tone became, and the more lost in her own memory she looked. Finally, _finally_ , Subaru understood. He understood what was wrong with her. Why she wasn't afraid of them. Why she didn't seem afraid of anything around her. It wasn't bravery or idiocy. She couldn't be shaken by something as cruel and dark as this place. Because you can't be afraid to be broken when you already are.

He didn't know why his chest felt heavy, or maybe he didn't want to know. When he looked down at her she was a little girl. One much too young to have the look that she had right now. To have the memories that she seemed to have. He knows what it meant to have eyes like that, and to see it on another child, bugged him. What exactly happened to her, he didn't know or give two shits about. The only thing he could think was that maybe that smile from before wasn't as annoying as he thought.

Subaru didn't know when his hand went up to her head, but it did, and he didn't think much to remove it. He just watched as she flinched out of her daydream, and look back up at him. Not even a second passed by before she flashed him another smile of hers. "So I don't really mind what you guys are like or what you are. I'm ok with it either way. As long I don't have to be alone, I wouldn't care if you were the bad guys~." She gave a little giggle.

He was only confused all over again as he looked at her eyes that went back to their shimmer.

"How do you do that?" She only tilted her head, and, before she could answer, he continued. "How can you suddenly snap from despair into happiness? It happened before when I caught you and you went on crying, and then you smiled in no time at all. Then, it happened right now? How you do that?"

She blinked up at him confused to his question, and he was just as confused himself.

However, she just smiled again. "Well, when I thought about that sad thing I was sad, and when you saved me… well I don't really know why I cried. But, I don't need to cry anymore because I remembered that I wasn't alone. I'm not alone right now, 'cause you're with me now, Subaru-kun. So, I'm happy."


	4. Time

"Hi, Reiji!" Rin exclaimed happily as she waved up at the dark haired male that stood at the entrance of the dining room. She ran from Subaru's side over to Reiji, and-

She tripped on the hem of Subaru's shirt, and face planted onto the floor… She began to pull herself upright, and-with her eyes slightly watery-she reached up for her reddened nose. "Owww." She moaned.

Then she saw a pair of nicely polished shoes in front of her, and she looked up to see a very annoyed Reiji. She smiled up at him as she got herself to her feet. "Hi Reiji." She said with no real care in the world.

"Why are you wearing that?"

Rin looked down at the shirt that was far too big for her, and then she looked back at Reiji with a smile. "I climbed a tree and then my dress ripped. Subaru gave me one of his shirt to wear, and it's so big!" She giggled happily at the bagginess of her sleeves.

Reiji didn't look any happier. "Young ladies shouldn't be climbing trees."

Rin tilted her head slightly. "I'm not a lady." She pictured an old woman sipping from a teacup wearing a feathery hat.

"Unless we were given false information on your sex, you are."

. . . "Huh?"

Reiji's eyebrow twitches slightly. "Why didn't you just put on one of your other clothes?"

To this Rin suddenly pouted. "Because all the other clothes are pink!" She whinned.

"But Rin-chan would look nice in pink~."

Rin spun around with a smile on her face to see Laito smiling down at her. "Laito-kun!" She exclaimed with a smile.

"No more 'Onii-chan?'"

Rin quickly shook her head. "No, Subaru-kun said I can't call you that anymore." Her expression became sad and guilty. "Is that ok?"

Laito glanced over his shoulder at and angry Subaru, before looking back to Rin. "If it's Rin-chan, you can call me anything~."

A smile grew on her face, and she was just about to speak before she heard a voice to her side. "Were you trying to have the brat call you 'Onii-chan?'" She turned to the voice, and saw it was Ayato making a sick face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Neko?" Rin tilted her head to the side.

To that, Ayato looked mad again. "Oi, stop calling me 'Neko!' It's Ore-sama!"

Rin thought about it for a second, and pointed up at him with a smile. "Neko-sama!"

Ayato just seemed to get madder. "You little-"

"Now now Ayato-kun, are you really going to let your temper fly for a child~?"

"Enough out of the both of you."

Rin looked up to Reiji as he looked down at her. "Now, if the dresses weren't for your liking, what would you prefer?"

"Um…" Rin tried to think about it, but only drew to blanks.

"Can I dress her up?"

Rin looked over to yet another voice, and saw that it was the purple haired boy. "Kanato-chan!"

She noticed him giving her a weird smile as his hair slightly shadowed his eyes, but her smile didn't waver.

Reiji looked annoyed at the idea. "I don't want to risk either you injuring her, or you injuring yourself by trying to feed."

Kanato looked at him angrily when he said that. "I'm not stupid!"

Rin didn't know why, but she thought Kanato looked cute when he got pouty. Then, she remembered what Subaru had told her. "Oh! Subaru-kun told me you guys are vampires!" To that all four of them looked down at her with slightly widened eyes. "Is that true!" She cried with excitement.

After a moment, Laito gave her a wide smile. "Yes, would you like to see?"

Rin tilted her head at the question, and noticed his hand move down to touch her.

Then, suddenly, she saw Subaru right next to Laito, and Subaru had a grip on Laito's wrist. Rin saw the immediate anger in his red eyes, and Laito only smiled. "What the hell are you doing?" Subaru growled.

Laito giggled at the question. "You always jump to conclusions too quickly Subaru-kun~."

"Oi!" Ayato called. "You can't drink! No one drinks before Ore-sama!"

"You're both ignorant fools if you really think you can drink her blood." Reiji sounded annoyed, Rin observed.

"You think Ore-sama can't?!"

"Shut the hell up you damn idiot!" Subaru snapped.

"Oh, are you two fighting again~?"

"None of you can kill her before she becomes my doll!"

"Kanato, I never agreed to letting her become another one of your toys."

"You can't just kill little Rin-chan Kanato-kun~."

"Coming from the pervert!"

"If Kanato gets to dress her up, why can't Ore-sama drink her?"

"I never gave Kanato permission, _and_ I've explained this twice to you already, that if you try to drink her blood, you will burn from the inside."

"Also, Rin-chan doesn't like you~."

"Fucking idiot."

"Oi, shut up Subaru!"

"Then you shut up about the 'Ore-sama' shit!"

After a while of them Rin was very confused to what they were talking about anymore. She was wondering if she should try making them stop-despite not knowing how to-but then she suddenly caught scent of something in the room. She looked over to the table, and saw there was suddenly stacks of delicious smelling items on the table-that fit what she remembered they said was 'food.'

She walked away from the boys-none of them seemed to noticed through their arguing-and she quickly walked over to one of the chairs. Rin tried to get up onto the chair-to get a better view of the food-but she found that she was too small for the long legged chairs. She was about to look over to the still bickering boys to ask for help, but quickly found that her feet were no longer touching the floor.

After a moment of blinking, she noticed that the chair she was trying to climb onto was being pulled out, and she was placed down onto the seat. Rin looked to her side to see Shuu settle himself into the chair next to her, and his eyes practically closed as she noticed the food was suddenly on the plates set up.

It took her a moment to register that Shuu had helped her, so she looked over at him with a wide smile. "Thank you, Shuu." She happily said.

She saw no reaction from him, but decided to just try for the food. She poked a little at the brown stuff-that looked to be the main 'food.' She found it to be tough, and she didn't know what to do with it. She poked at it for a while with her fork, but saw no results.

Then, she noticed a fork and knife being held by another pair of hands come into view. She looked up at Shuu as he cut up a piece of food, and held up the piece for her in front of her mouth. She blinked for a moment before smiling up at him again. "Thank you Shuu." And then she went and chomped onto the food on the fork.

And, as soon as the food touched her tongue her eyes widened, and she felt an unfamiliar sensation take over her tongue as she automatically began chewing on the food. Her eyes shimmered, and her mouth watered at the taste.

As soon as she was done with the chewing and swallowing she quickly moved her body over to face the boys that still looked irritated with each other. "Ne, Ne!"

They all paused for a moment and looked at her-slightly surprised at her suddenly being there-and her smile only grew up to her ears.

"The foods really good~!"

* * *

_**What Reiji had replied to her with, was something she would never forget. No matter how many years she's lived with them.** _

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* * *

"Reiji! Am I done yet?!" The seven year old winned as she walked again across the room-the thick dictionary on her head still steady. Rin really hated daily training almost as much as she hated daily studies-and she was already done with the study's. This was the _fifth_ time she walked around the room since the last time she dropped the book. It also didn't help that Reiji always insisted she wore _proper_ clothes during these hours. Which meant her hair was pulled back into a horribly uncomfortable bun, she was wearing a-at least purple-constricting dress, and shoes that were trying to bruise her feet every time she took a step.

She looked pitifully at the dark haired male as he pushed up his glasses-which Rin learned either meant something really good or really bad. "...It's was decent enough for today. We can continue the lesson tomorrow."

"Yay!" Rin cheered as she took the book off her head as fast as she could, and placed in on the closest table she found. She immediately started stripping off her shoes from her feet, and it was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

"Brat." Rin looked up at the sound of her 'nickname' as she removed the ties and pins in her hair-letting her messy curls fall to her waist. "Come over here."

Understanding what she meant Rin just smiled over at him. "Ok!" She skipped over to her usual seat-getting the feeling back in her feet-and she climbed up onto the chair and looked up patiently at Reiji.

He didn't say a word as he put on a pair of disposable gloves, and pull out his empty, clean syringe. Rin's eyes wandered for a bit around the familiar laboratory-at least that's what Ayato called it-as Reiji did his usual prep. Then, her attention was brought back when she felt the needle go into her flesh, and she let out a small "Ow!" She patiently watched as Reiji slowly drew out some of her blood. Then, he quickly pulled out the needle-another "ow"-and quickly placed a cotton ball at the wound. Rin quickly pressed the cotton ball down-knowing the routine-and Reiji went off and put her blood into three small vials-never filling them up all the way. Then, Reiji moved the cotton ball away-the bleeding having stopped-and put a rose bandage-that Rin had begged for on her trip to the store with him-over the wound.

Rin smiled happily at the purple roses-wondering if Reiji wanted it to match her dress-and then she jumped off the chair, and feeling proud that she'd stuck the landing. She smiled up at Reiji-inspecting the vial closely. She knew he would be busy from now until lunch, so she just waved at him happily. "Bye bye Reiji!" He didn't even look back at her, but Rin could tell he heard her-and that was good enough for her, so she grabbed her shoes and ran right out the door-remembering to close the door behind her.

She then began her happy skip down the hall, and decided she should go to her room to change out of the dress.

Once she got there she didn't miss a step before practically ripping-but not actually or else Reiji would kill her-the dress right off before going over to her closet. It took a lot of arguing and whining, but she managed to get some clothes that she actually likes-unlike the 'forever unworn' clothes Reiji picked out and she shoves to the very back of her closet. She pulled out a black t-shirt with a picture of a white skull bunny on it-Laito had said it was cute, and Ayato asked why it was a bunny. She then quickly dug through her drawers and found the hot pink shorts Laito said went with the shirt. She didn't really like pink, but she had an appreciation for clothes Laito picked out for her. Then, she just put on her faded out black sneakers-that Reiji has tried throwing out multiple times. Rin would have prefered to just go barefoot, but Reiji always scolded her not to.

Quickly grabbing the white beanie Subaru had picked for her-after she asked him to pick something for her-and raced out the door. She shoved the beanie onto her head, and it barely covered up the curls on her head.

Rin went skipping down the hall. She didn't have anything to do except have a tea party with Kanato, but that wasn't until _after_ dinner.

That's when Rin had the idea to just go ask Reiji what dinner would be! She skipped back over to the direction of his lab as she thought aimlessly about all the delicious foods that could be for dinner.

Once she reached his lab she was just about ready to open the door, but-

"Just hurry up with whatever you came in here to say, and get out." Rin paused at the harsh tone of Reiji's. Reiji was always mean and strict with her, but he never used that tone with her, but he did for…

Rin felt her spirits drop as she realized Shu was in there with Reiji. She didn't want to hear whatever conversation was going to happen, but he feet felt glued.

"He called… He said that he wants you to send him a picture… of her."

...She thought for a moment about what Shu said, and thought that the "her" might actually be her.

"Is that so. I understand. Now just leave already you good for nothing."

Rin felt her chest get a little heavier, and tired.

"Why are you still here?"

"...How much do you take from her?"

"That's not the concern of a good for nothing like you now is it. Now hurry up and leave."

"...Are you taking too much?"

There was a pause, and then she heard the very faint squeak of Reiji's chair. "Are you implying that I don't know how to do my job? Unlike you if I'm given an order I can actually follow it."

"...If she dies…" Rin could hear the shift in Shu's tone, and it made her chest tighten.

"Then you'll do what you've always done. Do nothing and cry about it later. After all that's what you did with that mut… and the dog-."

There was a quick sound of something clattering, and it made Rin jump. She wanted to run into the room, but something was holding her back.

...After a silence she heard the sound of Reiji's chair move again. "Unless you plan on cleaning that up, just leave."

...The silence afterward indicated that Shu had left…

Feeling no more motivation to ask Reiji she walked to her room instead.

Once she was there, she fell onto her bed-covered with freshly cleaned deep red sheets.

She felt tired every time she listened to the boys like that. Sure, they argued every now and again, but what took her energy was whenever they sounded like they were ready to rip each other apart.

Ayato got more hostile, Kanato yelled in a certain way, Shu would just sound more harsh, and Reiji was the one that made her the most tired. Reiji was subtle, but Rin could still feel his hate… Hate…

_"We all hate each other."_

'If I remember right it was Kanato-chan that said that.' Rin thought tiredly. Only two years ago did she hear those words, and two years ago she underestimated what he meant. As time moved forward she saw more and more of what hate actually meant. They never went fist to fist, but she felt like they would and more if given the chance.

Rinc curled up slightly into her bed, and she felt her chest sink more and more into an abyss.

It scared her, it scared her so much, because she didn't want them to hurt one another.

Shu was quiet, but he would pat her head and give her treats. Reiji was cruel but she enjoyed her time with him. Ayato was mean but… Ayato was Ayato. Kanato was prone to throwing tantrums, but he was cute. Laito was busy so much, and sometimes gave her weird looks, but he was so pampering. And Subaru… Subaru…

Rin slowly lifted herself from her bed, and, without much thought, let her feet lead her to where she wanted to go.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The roses were as beautiful as they were the first time she really looked at them-instead of looking for a new brother. She loved the pure color that the moonlight lit brightly, and the scent that swept the entire garden. It was all so beautiful, and it was calming to all her troubles. It was like a perfect scene out of a fairy tale, and it was so close.

Whenever she felt sad or confused she would find herself wandering into the garden of roses, for both the presence of the flowers and-

"Oi." Rin looked up happily at the sound of the voice-her hands clasped behind her back. "Why do you keep coming here?"

Rin's smile only brightened up at the familiarity or it, of him. "Because I like Subaru-kun." Rin spoke with glee.

As usual, Subaru just stared down at her, and he just turned away-murmuring something under his breath.

Rin giggled slightly-earning an over the shoulder look from him. She followed after him as he just walked down the way, and she sat down on the cool cement floor as he began to pull out some weeds from a patch of roses.

He ignored her as she stared intently at both the roses and him, but Rin knew he still acknowledged her presence. Rin didn't mind the silence if it was with Subaru, because it was nice. It also meant she didn't have to think that much, and could just enjoy being with him.

After a while, however, she naturally began to just let her words flow-no longer having protest from him like she used to. "Ne, Subaru, today Reiji had me do that thing where I have to walk around the room with a book on my head. He got mad at me every time the book even _slightly_ tilted. He was mean, but I'm glad that I finally managed to do it right!" And she just talked, and was quiet, and talked, and was quiet. Subaru would comment a little, but mostly just calling her or the others annoying. Rin didn't mind, she just liked spending time with him.

Something about Subaru just always managed to calm her, and make her happy-even if he had a temper. She could never put her finger on it, but Subaru… Subaru was Subaru, and that made her happy. That's why she went to him whenever she felt sad or confused. He was her Subaru.


	5. Festival

"Wow! Look at that! Hey, what's that?! Oh, that looks good~!" Rin was just about ready to jump over at whatever new thing she saw, and she saw a _lot_ of new things. However, like the three other times, she felt a harsh hand grab at the back of her clothes.

She looked up at an angry Reiji. "How many times must I tell you to stay put?"

And, like the three other times, Rin just gave him a half genuine look of guilt. "I'm sorry Reiji-ku- Oh what's that?!" And she went right back to trying to run off, but she felt yet another tug. This time she just held her head in unhappy defeat. "Sorry." Though, she felt as though she couldn't help it considering she was only ever let out of the house on occasional shopping trips, and Reiji would always be on her at the hip. It didn't make her feel any better that all the other boys left to their own paths without even so much as a glance from Reiji. She loved Reiji-he was like a parent to her-but sometimes she really wanted to punch him in the face.

"Come on Reiji-kun, this is Rin-chan's first festival, of course she's excited~." Rin's ears perked up at the familiar voice of an ally. She looked at Laito with pleading eyes to save her from the leash Reiji had metaphorically put on her. To that Laito sent his signature smile toward Rin. "Just look at how desperate she is to go around~."

Reiji looked down at her and Rin took this opportunity to give him the biggest puppy eyes she could muster-a trick Laito has been telling her to practice because it would become useful one day… This was not that day. "Why should I care about her state of mood? All that matters to me is to make sure the brat doesn't get herself into any trouble."

"Reeiiijjjiiii!" Rin now just resorted to loudly whining.

However, Laito's smile still hadn't faltered. "Then, how about I walk Rin around instead, and I'll convince Ayato to stop playing with his basketball inside the mansion."

To that Reiji immediately dropped his grip on Rin's kimono. "If I find either of you two caused a problem there will be consequences."

As soon as she felt her freedom finally in her hands, Rin felt a large smile get plastered onto her face. She looked up at Reiji with pure and utter gratitude. "Thank you Reiji~!"

Reiji only adjusted up his glasses without a twitch of any other emotion than professional. "If you do something reclus I will have to better think about any future requests like this."

Rin didn't even care about the threat he gave her, she was just ecstatic over being able to look at all the cool stuff. She only nodded at him with her smile still in place. "Ok~!" Once she did she went straight to Laito-who she knew was much easier to persuade. "Laito-kun, Laito-kun! Can we go see the fishys?!"

Laito gave her his smile, and reached down to hold her hand-much smaller than his large one-and they both started walking of together hand in hand. "Of course, whatever Rin-chan wants~." Rin noticed the purr in Laito's voice, but, not getting what it meant, she just kept smiling.

"Yay~!" Rin squealed with glee, and her eyes wandered around in every direction to all the stands and lights.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Laito-kun, what is this?" Rin asked-her legs swinging on the bench they sat on for a rest. She stared down at what was just a big puff of pink.

"It's called cotton candy." She looked up at his smiling face with a tilt of her head, still confused. "It's a little treat I thought Rin-chan would like, after all, it's _very_ sweet~."

To that Rin's head perked up, and a smile grew on her face. She loved all kind of foods, but one of her favorite categories was sweets. "Really?!" She didn't wait for an answer from Laito, and took a bite out of the fluff-completely taken off guard at how sticky it felt. She was even more surprised at how it just melted in her mouth almost immediately at the touch of her tongue. It was certainly a weird sensation, but she couldn't deny the taste. Her smile grew from ear to ear, and her eyes lit up brightly. "It's good!" She cried with delight, and took another bite, and another, and another.

Laito just continued to watch her with a smile. "Now, now, Rin-chan~. You don't want to hurt your stomach~."

Rin paused, and gave Laito a smile. "Ok." After all, Laito had already taken to five different stands. There was the fish scooping-Laito won a fish and Rin gave it away because Reiji wouldn't want a pet at home-there was a candy apple stand, a mask stand-where she didn't find one she liked- a fried meat stand, and a crepes stand-Rin liked food.

Then, Rin felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up at Laito-confused-but all Laito did-with a grin on his face-was point into the crowd. Confused, Rin looked to where he was pointing, and she saw a ruffle of purple hair, a dark purple yukata, and pale arms wrapped around a teddy bear. A smile grew on her face, and she jumped off the bench, her cotton candy in hand. She ran straight toward the figure and smiled up happily at him when he noticed her. "Hi, Kanato-chan~!"

The purple haired boy looked annoyed, but once his eyes fell on Rin his eyes slightly relaxed. "Hi."

She held up the fluff of candy up to Kanato. "Do you want some? It's super sweet!" Rin knew that Kanato liked sweets as much as she did.

Kanato looked at it, and once again he looked annoyed. "You already ate half of it, why would I want your leftovers?"

He sounded very frustrated and upset, but Rin had grown used to Kanato's temper. She just smiled pleasantly. "Because it's really good!" But Kanato still made no move to eat it. "Do you not want some?"

He looked even more annoyed. "Of course I want some! But you already ate from it!"

Rin blinked at him a few times until it clicked in her head, and she smiled brightly once again. "Ok, then I'll get you one!" Rin looked behind her, but saw no Laito, which made her wonder where he was. Shrugging-figuring she'll just see him later-Rin went down to the stand that Laito had gotten her the cotton candy.

It was a little bigger than the other ones, and Rin couldn't really see over the counter, but she saw the older man that stood at the front. He gave her a smile, and Rin smiled back up. "What can I get you?"

Rin held up a finger to him happily. "One cotton candy please!"

"Alright what color?"

To this Rin's eyes widened. She hadn't realized they came in different colors! "Purple!" Purple is Kanato's favorite color after all.

The man laughed a little and warmly smiled at her. "Sorry, but they don't come in purple. We have pink and blue."

Slightly disappointed, Rin just smiled and noded. "Ok, then pink!" It was what she had.

The man nodded, and after a moment he was back with another pink fluff. "Alright that'll be 500 yen."

Rin blinked up at him for a moment, and realized that the boys usually paid for everything, and she didn't even carry 5 yen with her. "Umm-."

Instead she saw Kanato give the man the money. The man gave his thanks and went back to the next customer. Kanato walked off, and Rin followed after him. Her head was slightly hung low as Kanato ate at his cotton candy. "I'm sorry I couldn't pay for it."

Kanato just enjoyed his candy as he spoke. "I don't care. I have a lot of money, I just didn't know where the stand was."

Despite him not accepting her apology, Rin knew that just meant that Kanato was happy, and that made her happy. "Ok~!" After a while of walking Rin began to realize she didn't know where they were going. "Kanato-chan, where are we going?"

Kanato stopped at the question, and he looked at her. His expression didn't change much, but he looked like he was thinking about something. Then, he turned to the left-completely taking them off whatever path they were on before. "This way."

Without much thought, Rin just followed along-just happy to be in his company.

Eventually, they got to a stand with little accessories. There were hairpins, sandals, fans, flowers, and a lot of others things like that. Most of them had pretty designs on them, but were pink.

Rin just watched as Kanato held up pins and looked at them, he even held up a few to Rin's bun. At the gestures, Rin just smiled because she knew what this was. Kanato liked to dress up Rin in different outfits, and she was happy enough to just do it. She thought about how Kanato had thrown a little fit this morning about how he wanted to dress her up in a kimono-to which she was currently wearing a blue one with purple flowers. So, she knew letting him pick out some things like this would make him happy. Without her really paying attentions, Kanato bought her a purple gemmed pin, and a pair of black woven sandals.

Happy at being a little pampered, Rin just looked up at Kanato with a bright smile. "Thank you, Kanato-chan~!"

However, Kanato was still slightly pouting. "It would have been better if Reiji just let me dress you in the first place."

Rin saw that Kanato was still upset about it, so she gave him a smile as big as she could make it. "Don't worry Kanato-chan! When we get back home you can dress me up there!" She didn't exactly have a taste for dressing up, but it was fun to spend time with Kanato no less. It was also one of the few times she saw the moody boy with a nice smile.

Kanato still pouted, but she could tell his mood was a little bit better. "Of course I am. I was going to do that either way."

Rin just smiled. "Ok!" Then, she noticed Kanato's attention was set somewhere else, and she saw that whatever it was, it made him look very mad. She followed his gaze, and she saw a certain redhead wearing a black yukata. "Ayato!" She yelled happily as she raced over to him.

To his name being yelled, he looked at her a little annoyed. "Oi, how many times do I have to tell you it's Ore-sama?"

Rin was going to comment that calling him that was no fun, but then she noticed that he was eating takoyaki. It was Ayato's favorite, so it wasn't surprising that he was eating it, just that he had it. "Did Reiji give you money?" She remembered on the way to the festival Reiji was telling Ayato that he wasn't allowed to have money with him because he was just going to spend it on 'stupid nonsense.'

To the question Ayato just smirked proudly. "If it's Ore-sama, he can get whatever he wants, even without money."

…Rin just stared at him with blank eyes as she realized he stole them. She looked over her shoulder to see if Kanato was there, so that she could ask him for money to give to the man Ayato stole them from, but she found Kanato wasn't there. Not too surprising, Kanato was mad at Ayato for barging into his room while him and Rin were having a tea party.

Letting out a little sigh, she just looked back to Ayato and was about to threaten him that she'll tell Reiji, but something suddenly caught her eyes. She felt said eyes widen, and her mouth slightly open to it at the sight. Forgetting about Ayato completely, she ran right over to the stand without a second thought. When she was in front of it, she let her eyes continue to stare. It was a stuffed animal, and it was just sitting there in the back of the stand. A bunch of others were kept up on the shelves, but the one she was looking at sat alone at the bottom. And she wanted it.

"Do you want to play?" Rin snapped out of it at the voice of an older man, she looked up and saw it was the one that owned the stand. He just stared at her, but she didn't know what to say. 'Play what?'

"...Um… I want a toy." She said, very confused.

The man was trying to hide it, but-living with the boys she did-she knew he was irritated with her answer. "If you want any of the toys, you have to shoot it with this gun."

At the sound of that Rin's eyes widened in shock. "I don't want to shoot it!" She didn't want to shoot _anything_.

"Oi, dumbass," Rin looked up and saw it was Ayato-still eating his takoyaki, "it's not a real gun."

When he said that she saw that there was a cork in the guns that were stacked in the back. At that sight she was relieved. "Oh." She said with her smile back.

"It's 600 yen per shot, but the first shot is for free." Rin was happy with that because neither her or Ayato had money.

But, when she thought about it, she realized she didn't know how to aim or shoot. So… She looked up at Ayato with her puppy eyes. "Ayato-sama, can you shoot the toy?"

Ayato just cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why should I? You're the one that wants a stupid plush."

Realizing the puppy eyes weren't working she thought about it, and decided to just bribe. "If you win it for me I'll make you takoyaki at home." She'd already watch Reiji make it plenty of times to get how to make them.

At that Ayato's eyes widened, and he gave her a little smirk. "Fine by me. Oi!" Ayato called at the stand owner. "Give me a gun old man." Once again, the man looked like he was trying to hide annoyance, but he did his job nonetheless and gave Ayato a gun-that Rin could now see was plastic. Ayato looked back down at Rin-who was now very excited. "Oi, which one do you want?"

Happy to comply, Rin pointed at the lonely little toy at the bottom shelf. "That one! All the way at the bottom!"

Ayato stared at it for a second, but just shrugged and aimed the gun. "You've got weird taste." He muttered under his breath, but Rin didn't care, she _really_ wanted it!

The owner was saying something about having to knock it over, but Ayato just fired while the guy was in the middle of talking. To Rin's absolute pleasure, the toy fell over, and the owner went over to get the prize. He handed it to Ayato, but he was giving them a funny face. "Are you sure you want this? It's a defect toy, so you can just play again for a different one."

Ayato just took the toy. "I'm not the one that wanted it." The owner just shrugged and went to the next customer. Then, Ayato tossed the doll to Rin, and she was ecstatic at the feel of the soft fur to the stuffed animal.

It made her happy to hold it, and it felt so soft. She squeezed it tightly, and was just thrilled. She looked up at Ayato with shining eyes and a bright smile. "Thank you very much, Ore-sama!" Rin was so grateful that she even called him what she never wanted to.

She earned herself a wide eyed Ayato by saying that. "You-"

"Oi!" Ayato and Rin both looked to the side, and saw that there was a very angry Reiji. "Who was the one that decided to rob a takoyaki stand?" Reiji asked this, but his eyes were directed at Ayato.

Before Ayato could say anything, Rin just pointed up at him with a smile on her face. "It was Neko-chan~!"

"'Chan?!'" But Rin was already happily skipping to the blonde that was behind Reiji-only slightly over hearing Reiji's nagging.

She stood in front of the man wearing a yellow and grey striped yukata, and happily held up the stuffed animal for him to see. "Shu-kun, look at what Ayato won me!"

Shu's expression didn't change much, but he did look at it with mild interest. Then, as he usually did, Shu reached down and pat Rin's head lightly. She had nothing against Shu petting her head, it was one of the little things he did to show her he cared, so she enjoyed it.

When he took his hand away he was grabbing something out of his yukata sleeve, and Rin watched patiently. He then held out a piece of candy. After taking off the wrapping he wordlessly held it out for Rin. To which she happily ate it out of his hand. He also liked giving her sweets.

Then, Rin thought it over in her head. She was with Reiji in the beginning, then with Laito, then with Kanato, then with Ayato, and now with Shu…

Finishing her candy, Rin looked up at Shu. "Shu-kun, where's Subaru-kun?"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Su...baru…." He looked over when he heard his name being called. And he saw Rin with her hands on her knees as she was panting for air. He was about to ask her why she had apparently _ran_ , but she just looked up at him with a wide smile. "Found… you…"

…. 'Even tired she's an idiot.' Was all he could bring himself to think. He just sighed and took out the water bottle-he was afraid he'd need-and walked over to her.

Another smile grew on her face when he handed it to her. And she quickly opened it and chugged down half the bottle-it was apparently normal for her to do so. After letting out a satisfied gasp of air, she looked up at him with those big teal eyes. "Thank you Subaru-kun!"

...He just mumbled something he wasn't even sure what he said, and went back to sitting on the grass of the hill. She just followed after him, and sat down happily by his side.

As usual, she went rambling on about how her day there was. She told him about how Reiji was keeping her close to the hip, how she went around with Laito, how Kanato bought her the sandals and pin, and how Ayato stole takoyaki from a stand. She went on and on about how fun it was, and how happy she was to be here.

He was looking up at the starless night sky, but he still listened to every word. No matter how annoying her talking was... for some reason he still wanted to listen.

"Oh! And look at this Subaru-kun!" He finally looked down at her, and she was holding up a stuffed animal to him. He just blinked at it confused to what she wanted him to do with it. "Ayato-kun won it for me at a stand where you had to shoot them, but they weren't real guns!"

Realizing she wanted him to grab it he just did it, and looked down at it. It was a pure white bunny thing with red eyes. That was it. The stitching was also kind of weird because it looked like it had furrowed eyebrows and a frown, so it looked like it was mad. He couldn't put together why someone as bubbly as Rin wanted a bunny that looked to just about hated its life.

He looked back down at her, and saw that she was looking at him with pure anticipation as though he were supposed to get something. "...What?"

Her smile grew wider as she got up to her feet and snatched up the bunny. She held it up for him to see and giggled happily. "It looks like Subaru-kun~!"

. . . "I'M NOT A FUCKING RABBIT!" He ended up slamming his fist into the ground and leaving a small crater. However, as usual, Rin didn't even so much as flinch.

In fact she just laughed even more as skipped around. "Hahahaha~! Subaru's a destructive bunny~! Destructive bunny~!"

Subaru felt his face redden from his own anger. "SHUT UP DAMN IT!"

After letting out a few more giggles Rin just fell back down to her seat right next to him-holding her rabbit tightly to her chest. She scooched closer to his arm, and he was left to-yet again-wonder how the hell this kid didn't mind curling up into a person like him. She had a content look on her face as she lightly hummed a tuneless song, and her eyes on the empty sky. And, as usual, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.

Finally, she looked up to him-an arm wrapped around his-and her eyes were shining with curiosity. "Subaru-kun, why are you here?"

He ever so slightly flinched at the question, and looked to the side. It didn't help that she leaned in closer with her head slightly tilted. "...Because-"

**_BAM!_ **

He felt Rin flinch, and he watched as her eyes widened as far as they could go when she looked up at what made that sound. The fireworks show had started.

Her full attention was glued to the large sparks of light that exploded in the once dead sky. She tightened her grip on the back of Subaru's yukata, and he could feel her slight tremble. Soon enough, there was a smile large enough to rival all the ones she's ever had in the past.

...Subaru didn't want to admit that when he heard she'd never seen a firework, he wanted to try finding a spot that would be perfect to watch them. He'd already seen them before in his life, but...he figured a kid as stupid as her would enjoy them...

. . . . . . . . . . . .

He watched from a safe distance as the pair sat and enjoyed the fireworks. He figured Rin was too human to notice him, and Subaru too stupid.

From what he saw the two were fine, and that there was no chance of mayhem being caused-unlike with _Ayato_.

"My what a stalker you are, Reiji-kun~."

Reiji looked behind him, and saw that Laito was there, but he already knew he started tailing him a while ago-right after sending Rin after Kanato. "I'm only making sure the brat doesn't cause any problems."

But those green eyes of his still shinned with amusement. "You're as protective of Rin as usual~."

Reiji just scoffed at him. "Believe whatever you want." He just decided to look back at the pair sitting ahead of him.

Laito just let out a little giggle. "You know, it was really surprising when Rin told me that you said we could all go to the festival together. I really thought you would turn her down flat when I told her to ask you. So, what convinced the cold hearted prince to let the little princess have some fun~."

...Reiji didn't look at him, and his eyes remained on the pair, but his mind wandered off to just a few days ago.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

_After waking up from yet another annoying nightmare-of a memory he would prefer to just forget-Reiji found that he had once again fallen asleep in his laboratory. He remembered reading something, but that his eyelids had grown more and more heavier… Feeling irritation at himself for having so little will power that he dozed off in the middle of work, his hand went up to his temple to adjust his slightly fallen glasses._

_At doing so, he noticed a heavy weight that was now on his person. He looked down, and the first thing he noticed was the messy of black curls. Almost immediately he realized that it was the human child. This made his eyes slightly widen._

_She was curled up quietly on his lap, only letting out soft breaths in and out. She was wearing another one of her preferred outfits-no matter how many times Reiji told her it was ridiculous choice of clothing. And, to his displeasure, she was barefooted again. He was at least grateful that her feet were cleaned. 'Honestly, this brat is an absolute filthy mess.'_

_...He thought this, but he...oddly...he didn't want to push her off, or even get up quite yet… It would still take him off guard as to how warm humans were compared to vampires. He'd also heard times in the past that children let out more heat than adults, and she was proof of that right now._

_Without knowing why, for a long moment, he just watched her breath..._

. . . . . . . . . . . .

_"Huh…?" Reiji paused, and then put down his vile as he heard the sound of her waking. He turned his chair slightly to look over at her. She let out a-horridly-loud yawn and looked around the room with drowsy eyes. When her eyes finally fell on Reiji all tiredness seemed to immediately disappear, and a smile grew on her face. "Reiji-kun! Oh wait…" She looked around the room as though she were confused why she were here. Then, after just a moment, they snapped open in realization, and she looked back to him with the same smile. "Oh! Reiji-kun, can I ask you something?"_

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"...If I had said no the brat would have been irritating." Was his half hearted answer.


	6. Lonely?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ChocoMochi: I hope you don't actually die O_o! But thank you for that, I hope you think this chapter is cute too ^^

"What do you think Susu?" The eight year old asked the stuffed bunny as she continued to stare down at the patch of flowers. She let out a sigh after thinking. "Yeah, I don't think Reiji would let me bring them home."

Rin got up to her feet with her stuffed rabbit-Susu-held close to her chest. She continued to wander farther down the road trail.

Today was a little special, all the boys were out for...something. She didn't really know what, but she thinks it had something to do with their father-a man she knew nothing about except that he's the reason she's there. It was apparently important because they were up in the middle of noon. Thus, waking her up, and she lost her tiredness.

So, while they're out, the only ones left to watch her were the servants. But… she never really liked the servants. They always felt so cold and lifeless, that it made her uncomfortable… Which is why, she ordered them to not follow her, and it worked since Reiji said they were to listen to her every request. This lead her to open the front gates of the manor and walk by the side of the road.

It wasn't as though she'd get lost. When she's ready to come back home she'll just follow the road right back to the manor. She even felt safer just by having her favorite plush with her.

Then, she heard a car driving closer. She paused and looked toward it. 'Is it the boys already?' Worrying over how Reiji would react to her being outside the manor she tried to see if it was their car.

However, she saw it was one she'd never seen before. It was actually a big car-like one of the ones that carried transports with them. She was relieved it wasn't the boys coming home just yet, but now she began to wonder if she should go back home before they did.

As she began to turn around toward the manor she listened as the car was driving to her direction, but she just ignored it-figuring it'll just drive past. But, it sounded as though it were slowing down behind her.

Curiously, she turned around to see that it was slowly stopping right next to her. She blinked up at the driver seat-that she had to crane her up neck to see. After a moment, she saw an older woman step out of the car. She had greying brown hair held high in a ponytail, and muddy brown eyes that looked a little too small for her head. She smiled down at Rin with her thin lips, and she put something that looked like a bottle back onto her seat.

"Well hi there little girl." She said softly to her. "What're you doing out here by yourself?"

...On a normal occasion, Rin would have just smiled back and go on about what she's been doing. However… something felt wrong in the pit of her stomach as she looked up to this strange woman, and she began to become more aware that the sun was starting to set-making it darker. She stared up at the woman warily, and began to wonder if she should just ignore her and walk away.

"...Walking." She said quietly-holding onto Susu even tighter.

The woman took a step forward, but Rin took a step back. She could see the woman was thinking about something over in her mind, and it worried her that she didn't know what. "Where're you from little girl? There's no houses close by here. Are you far from home?"

Before thinking Rin quickly shook her head.

This made the woman's eyes and smile grow ever so slightly. "Well, there's only one home around here. The manor right that way. Do you live there sweetheart?"

Rin felt her insides tighten at the way the woman was looking at her, and she wanted to just run away. But, her feet felt like they were glued to the ground. "...R-Reiji said I shouldn't talk to strangers." It was the only thing she could think to say in the moment.

The interest in the woman's eyes did not falter, and she tried to take another step forward-and Rin took a step back. "I'm no stranger sweetyheart. My name's… Aki. What's your name sweety?"

Rin could tell the woman lied when she said her 'name.' It worried her even more that she lied about her name of all things. Reiji said criminals do that.

"...I-"

"Yori just grab her!" The woman yelled angrily.

Rin didn't even get a moment to look behind her before she was grabbed by sweaty, meaty fingers.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Maki, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Shut up!"

"Maki we stole a fricken kid-!"

"I said shut the hell up!"

"...Oh god. What are we going to do?"

"Look, Ryo make big money just by kidnapping and ransoming out a kid from a well off middle class family. Imagine the fortune we'll milk of out from a kid that lives in a fucking mansion! We'll be swimming in gold!"

"Yeah, and now Ryo's ass is in jail!"

"Then we don't fuck this up! Ryo was a dumbass anyways."

"Then why are we doing what he did?!"

"Shut up Yori! We'll figure it out!"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It was dark in the back. Almost pitch black. It also didn't help that they didn't strap her down to anything, so she felt every bump and speed up-painfully. They tied her hands behind her back and some cloth over her mouth. Rin tried wiggling out of the ropes, but she stopped when the ropes began to burn her wrists. She tried kicking on the walls, but the car was moving too much for her to get a good kick in-not that anyone was even listening.

All her failed efforts left her to just sit where she was. As she was rattled around in the back she thought about how much she wished she didn't drop Susu when they grabbed her. She wished she didn't leave the manor. She wished she didn't order the servants to leave her alone. And she wished… She wished the boys would hurry up and save her.

This was one of-if not the worst-position she's been in, but she knew they'd come get her eventually. They've proven that her safety if important-for whatever reason-and they were beyond human abilities. They'd save her and bring her back home eventually… Eventually…

She didn't want to. She really didn't. She tried stopping herself from doing it since they threw her in the back. But it was becoming harder to stop it.

Rin felt a painful lump beging to form in her throat, and she felt her eyes begin to water. She didn't even know why she was starting to cry. She _knew_ the boys were going to save her, but there was still something curling up tightly in her chest as she looked into the darkness… She couldn't stop when a single sob ripped through her mouth-

Suddenly, she saw a figure in the darkness with her. She stared in surprise, and was lost for words. She only had a millisecond to recognize who it was before figure lunges for her, and wrapped her tightly into his familiar arms.

Right when he did she felt the speeding car suddenly come to an immediate stop. This caused them both to fly to the wall on the other side. She heard the loud sound of his back hitting said wall, and she felt an overflow of concern fill her.

Once everything finally slowed down she looked up at the one hold her, and he went straight to untying her. By the time he ripped the rope and cloth the doors to the back opened. Her eyes looked immediately behind her, and she saw more familiar faces.

"There you are Rin-chan, we were worried~."

"What were you doing walking around near night without any of the servants supervising you?"

She blinked at the three of them-one of them Shuu who just stared at her with an unreadable look… "Sorry, I got bored." She said with a new found smile on her face.

"Boredom does not excuse leaving the house unescorted."

"Ok, I'll remember next time. Have you guys found Susu?"

"What is a 'Susu?'"

"It's Rin-chan's little bunny plush."

"That revolting thing?"

"... We…just got here."

"Can we go find him? I dropped him when they took me."

"Of course we'll find him Rin-chan~."

"There's no 'we' in the matter. I'll send servants to look for the wretched thing, but you're going straight home. Subaru will be keeping an eye on you."

Rin gave Reiji a tilt of her head. "Where're you guys gonna be?"

Reiji adjusted up his glasses, and Rin thought she saw his eyes flicker to the side. "...There's business to be taken care of over this incident. Now, Subaru take her home. She's gotten herself into enough trouble as it is."

"But-" She was cut off before she could finish. In the blink of an eyes she was no longer in the back of a truck, she was sitting on the familiar couch to their familiar sitting room.

She had to blink a few times to make sure it was real. Even after being teleported a few times before, it always felt unreal right afterwards. As she let out a sigh she moved to get back onto her feet. 'Why's Reiji have to randomly be mysterious?'

However, right before her feet could touch the floor, she was suddenly pulled back. Letting out a small gasp, she felt an arm wrapped around her torso as her side was forced to him. She blinked a few times before looking back up. "Suba-" Her words were stopped by seeing the look on his face. He had his usual look of anger on his face, but there was more of a strain than usual. He stared down at her with red eyes just blazing with something fierce. It almost took her breath away.

"How… How could you be stupid enough to go off somewhere on your own?!"

Her eyes widened up at him. It wasn't something abnormal to have him yell at her, but it was abnormal to hear him use the tone that he did. She couldn't wrap her head around what kind of tone it was, but it made her feel like something tightened in her stomach.

"Do you even know what those people could have done to you?! Why would you go outside in the first place?! We could have found you as a corpse!"

...He forced her head down onto his chest, and she stayed like that for a while… Her hand went up to his shirt and she gripped it ever so slightly-she felt him flinch under the touch. "...I'm sorry. I just don't like the house when you guys are gone… It's really empty, and the servants don't really talk to me… I didn't know people would try to take me away…"

But he still remained silent. It worried her more when he was silent then when he was yelling at her… She was used to scolding, it was all Reiji did. She was used to being told she was in the wrong, and that she was an idiot. However, it was different from Subaru. He didn't just sound mad from it, he sounded hurt from it. She hurt him by almost turning up dead…

"...I'm ok though. I'm not hurt, not really. I also knew you guys were coming. I knew you'd eventually save me… I'm not worried about being hurt when I have vampires to save me whenever I do something stupid…"

...She thought she imagined it, but-to her most utter surprise-it almost sounded as though Subaru-her angry angry Subaru-actually let out a small … 'laugh?' Imaginary or not, it made her eyes shoot wide open, and her breath hitch from shock-or something like it.

"... The irony…" He whispered so quietly she almost missed it…

Rin felt the tension that was built up slowly-thankfully-die, and she just sat comfortably in his arms as she learned to breath again.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

'How long are they going to take?' Subaru thought impatiently. It had nearly been a whole hour, but there was still no sign of the others' return. He knew what they were doing, they were doing what all vampires were best at, inflicting pain. He wanted to do so as well of course, but Reiji said something about how if it were anyone else Rin would have slid her way around to getting out there with them-other than Reiji.

He knew that Reiji was mostly there to better secure the area so that something like this won't happen again, and less for the punishing of humans… Stupid, worthless, fucking humans…

He tore his eyes off the window for a moment and looked over at the almost kidnapped victim. Despite the title she looked as though nothing happened-other than those rope marks on her wrist. She was sitting contentedly on the floor with a book opened on the coffee table.

It was strange the way she seemed to just jump back up on her feet after being thrown in the back of a truck. 'Course, she's always been a strange kid. He knew it took quite a bit to get her shaken, but for something like this he at least expected a shiver.

_"I'm not worried about being hurt when I have vampires to save me whenever I do something stupid…"_

...It was almost hilarious how much faith she put in them. They were not only killers, but they only had her there to find out what made her tick. She was just an experiment and yet… He didn't want to think too much about it because if he did his mind would go to how he had to hold onto her just a little bit longer…just to make sure she wouldn't run off to get herself hurt…

"Subaru-kun." He forced himself out of his hazy thinking and looked down at her as she curiously looked at him with those big teal eyes. "Do you think they've found Susu yet?"

His eye almost twitched to the sound of that name. It was the name of the stupid rabbit she got about a year ago, and the name was because she believed the damn rabbit looked like him. "How should I know?" 'That stupid rabbit can burn in a ditch for all I care.'

Rin just seemed to ignore the irritation in Subaru's tone, and she went on about it. "I hope they do. I don't want him to get lonely."

'It's stuffed, it can't feel to begin with.' He kept himself from saying to her.

"Afterall, Susu is a bunny." She continued, and what she said did catch his attention. "Reiji told me bunnies can die from loneliness, and that's especially bad because Susu gets lonely easily."

"Your stuffed rabbit doesn't get lonely." He said without thinking, and he earned a little pout from her.

"He does! I know he does." She turned back to look down at her book. "Because he's like Subaru-kun."

To the sound of that, his eyes widened, but she just went back to her reading…

Then, they both heard it. To the sound of it Rin jumped up to her feet with a smile on her face. "They're back!"

He didn't follow after her, he could smell them from where he was, and knew they were there. Just to confirm, he heard an irritating voice say, "We found Susu Rin-chan~."

...He leaned over and picked up the book she was still reading, but found he couldn't understand a single word from it. He remembered Reiji was had her learn english, and she was practically fluent at this point… 'She's too smart for her own good.'

. . . . . . . . . . . .

_KNOCK KNOCK_

There was another knock on the door as Subaru put himself back onto his feet. He was woken from his sleep, and he was hoping it wasn't something stupid.

He finally got to the door, and opened it. "What the hell is-"

"Subaru!" His attention went immediately to Rin as she flung herself straight toward him and held onto him tightly.

She was sobbing her lungs out and she looked like she'd just woken up-she was in her night gown and her hair was messier than usual. She was shaking like a leaf, and she had a grip on him like if she was afraid he'd disappear.

"Rin-sama ordered me to bring her to your door." Subaru's looked to the servant that stood at the doorway with an emotionless expression.

This confused him. "Isn't Shuu's room closer?"

"It had to be Subaru!" He looked back down at her and saw her teal eyes drowning in tears. "It had to!"

...He let out a mental sigh and just closed the door-not bothering to look back to the cold servant. Once he did he just looked at her. "What's wrong?" He tried to keep concern out of his tone, but he knew what he was feeling whether or not he'd want to admit it.

She brought one of her hands up to her cheek to attempt to wipe away the falling tears. "I (sob) I tried to sleep but (sob)... I had a dream that…(sob) That I couldn't find you guys… I was alone, and I didn't know (sob) where to find you… I thought I lost you all!" She buried her face into his stomach, and for a long moment he was at a lost for words.

The last time he saw her cry was the night he first met her. Since then she hardly even got watery eyes. It was usually smiles and occasional pouts. He knew it was unusual to have a child that didn't cry, but it wasn't pleasant when she actually did…

He just let memory effect his next move. He picked her up to his chest. She had grown, but she was still small and fit well in his arms. She didn't make a protest to this, and just kept crying.

Knowing what else to do he just took her to his coffin and laid back down with her clinging tightly to his chest. He figured he'd just do the same thing he did back then and wait for her to tire herself out.

Except this time lasted longer than last time. She was really shaken over the dream she had. He wondered why. 'Did it have something to do with this afternoon?' He thought to himself with desperation he didn't know he had. 'But she looked fine afterwards.'

Without any thoughts to influence him, he felt his hand go up to the top of her head. He felt a tightness in his chest as he continued to watch her cry as he was incapable of fixing whatever got into her.

…

…

...It took a long time, but she eventually calmed down, and fell right asleep in his arms… He let out a breath and looked down at her sleeping face stained with dried tears… It was hard to grasp in his mind that this sudden night interruption was triggered by a simple dream, but then again he didn't know much about kids to begin with. He always figured Rin was… 'special' compared to other kids, but she was still one no less… One whose earliest memory was when she was somewhere alone… Somewhere that was dark and cold… And when they first met she had cried out of fear that she was going to be alone all over again…

He felt his hand slowly run through her mess of curls, and he thought for a moment about how small she really was. He wondered if all kids were really this small, or if it was just her….

_"Susu gets lonely easily... Because he's like Subaru-kun."_

She had said that not too long ago, but as he looked down at the exhausted child, he couldn't help but think, 'Aren't you the one that gets lonely?'

...Then, he realized, to even more confusion, that she had said it had to be him… 'Why me? Why were you so desperate to get to me of all people?'

He thought about it over and over, but came to no conclusion. Deciding that too much had happened that day-between thinking she might have been killed to having her show up to his room balling her eyes out-that he needed nothing more than he needed sleep.

So, he let himself fall back into sleep, as he held the center of all his irritating concern closely to him.


	7. Accidents

The twelve year old could only stare in complete horror at the scene in front of her. There was a figure right next to her curled up slightly as it held onto its hand. Painful groans and grunts were let out from it as a sizzling sound echoed painfully in her ears.

Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, and left her unable to breath as she looked at the display before her. What was a millisecond felt like an eternity. Then, it slowly began to seep in what happened, and who it was that was curled in front of her. She was in the hallway, there were broken shards of glass around her, there was blood trickling down her arm, that same blood was touched by the figure in front of her, and the figure in front of her was…

Rin was snapped out of her daze, and she felt an immediate plummet in her chest and stomach. Without thinking straight she tried to reach out for the man in front of her. "SUBA-!" she tried to call out through her burning throat, but she was immediately cut off by a familiar voice.

"Don't touch him!"

Her eyes snapped to the sound, and in the blink of an eye there was another figure behind Subaru. Once she looked up to it, she saw who it was that yelled at her. "R...Reiji…" Was all she could manage with the painful noises still coming from Subaru through grinded teeth. It hurt to hear it, and it hurt to see it. With tears running down her cheeks she she looked up at Reiji with pleading eyes as he only looked down at Subaru with an unreadable expression. "Reiji, Subaru's hurt! Please, do somethi-"

"What do you think I was going to do?" Reiji cut her off again as he kneeled down to Subaru.

She felt words bubble in her chest to cry or scream, but, once again, in the blink of an eye they were both gone.

Rin was left by herself in an eerily quiet hallway. Shards of a broken mirror all around her, her blood dripping down her arm, and an unerasable echo of pain. To the sight of this scene, she could only let more tears run down her cheeks as her grip tightened to the hem of her dark red dress…

...Looking back down to her arm she saw the blood dripping onto the floor, and with that she got up to her feet, and tried to cover it up with the top layer of her dress in order to try keeping it from falling. It stung, just a little bit, but it was nothing compared to the aching in her chest.

Reiji had explained to her years ago about what her blood did. It was like acid to vampires. Even if she could touch it so easily without even a tingle, it burned the skins of the ones that mattered to her. When she first heard it, she was worried over it, but as time progressed without an incident the worry and fear declined on its own...

Her feet felt heavy as she walked toward a bathroom. She knew how to wrap up a would like hers. It was only a flesh wound, so she would just need to wash it and wrap it. 'Wash it, wrap it. Wash it, wrap it. Wash it, wrap it.' She chanted in her head. She _needed_ to chant it, because if she didn her mind would go back to Subaru curled up in pain. Pain because of her blood.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Once again, she found that Subaru's room was empty of life. It'd already been nearly a week since the incident in the hallway happened, and since then Subaru's injuries healed. At least that's what everyone else keeps telling her.

She'd already tried on numerous occasions to reach him and check for herself that he was fine, but every time she went to where she expected him to be he was never there. He didn't come down to eat with them when the food was ready, he wasn't in his room whenever she went to go check, she could never find him in the garden, and everyone else can confirm that he was still in the mansion. Rin might only be twelve, but even she could see he was avoiding her.

Even now, as she sat on top of his closed coffin, she knew that he was purposely keeping away from her. It was just frustrating. He'd said on numerous occasions that he found her constantly tagging along with him annoying, but she never took him seriously. But, this time it was more than just being annoying, it was after she _hurt_ him.

It was an accident, she knew that, but that only made it worse. Accidental means unpredictable. For all _any_ of them knew another _accident_ could happen and someone else would get hurt.

It wasn't just a little pain, her blood was _torturing_ him. It was still imprinted in her head the way he was so curled up in pain. The horrible sounds that came out of his mouth. It was all in only a second, but for it to have been that bad in so little time, how much worse would it have been if Reiji wasn't there to take over?

Remembering it all just hurt, and she wondered whether or not she should fight away the pain. Afterall, she was the one that inflicted it.

"Why so many tears Rin-chan?"

Her teal eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice, and when she looked up she saw it was the familiar twinkling eyes of Laito. Without thinking she quickly moved back-away from him-and this caused her to fall off the coffin all together. While getting back up to her feet she noticed Laito once again in front of her.

"You moved away from me so quickly. Do you not like me anymore Rin-chan~?"

He reached out for her, and she flinched and dropped to the floor into the fetal position. "Don't touch me!" She shriek loudly.

"...Are you scared of me Rin-chan?" His tone was still weightless, but she heard the ever slightest of strains in it.

She vigorously shook her head without lifting up at him. "...My blood, it hurts you guys… I don't want to hurt any of you… I already hurt Subaru-kun, and now… and now he doesn't want to be around me." It hurt. It all hurt. It hurt that she hurt him. It hurt that he was now avoiding her because of it. It hurt that she may never have a normal day with him again.

"Pfft!" Shocked, she looked back up at Laito as he had a hand over his mouth to keep from… laughing. Once his hand fell away from his mouth he was left just smiling at her. "You think Subaru-kun's avoiding you because _you_ hurt _him_? Oh, Rin-chan, you've got it the other way around."

...Rin tilted her head at this. 'Other way…?' "...Why would Subaru-kun…?"

"Do you not remember what happened _before_ you started bleeding?"

Of course she did. It was just another normal routine. She was following around Subaru, with that big grin on her face, as she waved around Susu. There was nothing different. She was teasing him a little because of how much Susu looked like Subaru, and, of course, this caused him to punch something. But Rin was already used to him making holes and craters. It's just that this time, when he punched the wall, he punched and shattered a mirror.

When the mirror broke Rin fell from being startled, and a shard scratched her arm. There was blood, and… when Subaru saw the blood…

Rin looked back to the floor as she thought about it, and she got what Laito was trying to tell her. "...But, Subaru-kun didn't mean it, so I don't care about that." 'Glass scratched me, but my blood burned him…'

"That's so sweet of you Rin-chan~. But I think you're forgetting something." Rin looked back up at him, and saw he had another look she couldn't understand because he smiled like he always did, but there was something else behind it. "The point is that we're vampires, and that almost any wound we retrieve could be fixed by our healing. In fact, there's not very many things that could wound us in the first place. But, Rin-chan is human, and humans are always so easy to break."

...Living with the people that she did, Rin was used to having these moments were she didn't understand what one of them was talking about. However, she was never quite sure if it was because she didn't understand, or there was a part of her that didn't want to understand.

Either way, it took a moment of unreadable tension until Laito switched back to his normal smile. "But enough of that~. You want to fix things with Subaru-kun right?"

Rin needed a second to be snapped out of the confusing daze until she started vigorously nodding her head. "Of course I do! But he's never there whenever I try to find him."

"Hmmm. Getting him to show up is one thing, but there's also the matter of what you're going to do when you see him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what are you going to do when you see him?"

Rin thought about it and realized she didn't really have a plan. "I… I'll tell him it wasn't his fault."

"He'll just ignore you."

"But-."

"Subaru-kun is very stubborn Rin-chan."

She pressed her lips tight together as she tried to think of something else. "...I'll tell him it was more my fault."

"He'll only get upset because he'll think you're being too generous."

At this point Rin was getting frustrated. "Than I'll tell him he's being stupid!"

"He'll call you stupid back~."

"Ahh!" She ruffled her hands through her hair over the fact that she knew Laito was right. "Why does this have to be so complicated?!"

"... He'll have a hard time listening to you Rin-chan." Laito said as he kneeled down to her level. She met his gaze and at least found _some_ comfort in his usual grin, but not a lot.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" She quietly asked.

"There's an old saying, Rin-chan." Her head tilted at this, and he lightly grabbed her chin and made her look him directly in the eyes. "Actions speak louder than words."

...Rin _had_ heard that saying before, and she was aware of what it meant. She tried to think them over to try thinking of what she could use it for… Then it hit her. "Oh! I can give Subaru-kun a present!" She exclaimed with a new sense of hope.

She was so lost in it that she didn't noticed Laito's eyes widen ever so slightly for a split second-only for it to return to his usual smile. "That could work."

With those encouraging words, Rin jumped up to her feet with a broad smile across her face. "I think I know just what to get him! Thanks Laito-kun!" She dashed all at once out of the room, and failed to notice the small chuckle that Laito let out.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Once Rin placed the "present" behind the tree, that was a big part of her 'master' plan, she took a quick look around the garden and-to no surprise-she couldn't see Subaru. She pressed her lips close down on each other and thought over again what she was going to do.

Nervousness shook her legs, so she slapped her cheeks twice to gain some confidence. With a determined huff, Rin then began to climb the tree. It was an especially tall one in the garden, but it was simple enough to climb. Once she reached the top she looked across the garden, and still no sign of him.

She look in a deep breath and let her thoughts calmly fall together. Finally, with her thoughts, confidence, and plan all in order, she looked off into the distance-looking at nothing in particular-and she opened her mouth.

"...I'M GOING TO JUMP OFF THIS TREE SUBARU-KUN! SO YOU BETTER CATCH ME OR ELSE I'M GOING TO CRACK OPEN MY SKULL! GOT IT?!"

...There was no response, but she was expecting that. Rin knew not to look down, so she didn't, but that didn't make the nervousness completely go away. She just tried to focus her thoughts on the first time she met him, and how he caught her _that_ time, so this time shouldn't be any different.

'Here I go…' Was her last thought before she took her first step off of the branch, and then the other. Until she felt gravity take over…

Her eyes were shut tightly as she fell for only half a second, and it ended with her feeling the familiar embrace of arms. Once everything fell steady, she looked up-with her hands holding onto the fabric of a shirt-and she saw what she hadn't seen in so long. And for a moment those red eyes-full of fury-caught her and she couldn't look away.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"What the hell were you doing?!" He shouted absolutely infuriated with her. He tried to ignore her, and frankly, he thought she was bluffing. Then, he finds out Rin was actually serious and nearly hurt herself.

She blinked up at him for a second-looking like she was trying to get her thoughts together. "Jumping out of a tree." She decided to say, very seriously.

This only proved to annoy Subaru more. " _Why_ did you jump out of a tree?! How stupid do you have to be to pull a move like that?!"

As usual, she didn't flinch to his yelling, but this time she only got mad herself. "It was all I could think of to get you to actually come! This is the first time I've seen you all week!"

...Subaru felt an odd sense of happiness at the sound of her trying to get him to come to her, but what little joy he had was overwhelmingly overshadowed by how furious he was at her for being so stupid, and how furious he was at himself for the whole reason this started. Remembering at all what happened a week ago made him feel drained, angry, and he just wanted to leave.

He didn't look Rin straight into those glowing eyes, and he just tried to pull her away. "...Enough of this I-" He tried to pull her off, but once he started to try she immediately wrapped her arms and legs around him and gripped down as hard as she could. She even buried her face in his chest… He was strong enough to pull her off even with this grip… he was only worried he'd end up hurting her again. "...Let go."

She quickly shook her head back in forth-face still buried in his chest. "No! 'Cause if I let go you're just going to run away again! It also doesn't matter because if you do I'll just keep jumping out of that tree over and over!"

He felt a vein pop on his forehead. "Why the hell do you have to be so stubborn?!"

"Because I was scared!" His eyes widened to those words, and he was caught speechless. "You've been avoiding me since _that_ happened and I was scared! I was scared... that you didn't want to be around someone who burned you." Her voice dropped as she spoke.

After what happened he didn't put as much thought into how he was burned over the blood that seeped down her small arm… It never occurred to him that she'd think it was _her_ fault. 'That's what you-?'

"Then Laito-kun told me you were avoiding me because you scratched me! Which is stupid cause I don't care about that!" She continued.

At the sound of that, Subaru found himself angry all over again. 'Stupid?!' "Do you not realize what happened?!" He couldn't stop thinking about what he had done to her, and yet here she was calling it 'stupid.'

"I already went over this with Laito-kun. I got you mad and you punched a wall, but that's always what happens. It's just that this time you accidentally punched a mirror."

"Shards fell, and one scratched you! How does that not worry you in the slightest?!"

"I was more worried about 'you' being burned!"

"I wouldn't have been burned if you weren't scratched!"

"I don't care about that though!" She pulled her face from his chest, and looked up at him with blazing teal eyes coated in tears.

If it were any other time, he would have gone wide eyed, but he was too blinded by his own fury to really capture the picture in front of him. "You should you idiot! There were big shards there! If you weren't so stupidly lucky one of them could have cut out your eye, or cut through your skull or- I don't know!"

This time she opened her mouth as though she were going to say something, but stopped. She looked as though she were really thinking about something. Before Subaru could think of a way to get her to let go of him, she spoke. "...But it was an accident."

"That doesn't change what happened!"

"But it changed what will happen!"

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

"Accidents happen, and you can't stop them, but you can try making sure they don't happen later! You can learn from them!"

Her voice was no longer frustrated, but determined, and this time, he really saw her. She was only twelve, but she somehow had a look like this. He couldn't think of anything to say for a second.

"I got scratched by glass, so we can both try being more careful with glass. You got burned, so we can both try being more careful with my blood."

Her voice was softer, and he had to really force himself to be mad again. Because at the end of the day, he didn't want to allow himself to hurt her again. "It's not that simple!" It never was.

Her eyes gain back that fury. "You're just thinking too much!"

"You just don't get it! Things happen no matter how much you try to stop it!" 'They _always_ do!'

"Not if you really try!"

"And how do you know that?!"

"I don't!"

"Then why are you arguing?!"

"Because I trust you!"

...Once again, like it always seemed to when it came to her, Subaru's eyes snapped open, and he was at a complete lost of words as he saw there was no hint of lie in her teal eyes. He felt an overwhelming feeling of both happiness and guilt. She really meant it, and that was more than anyone else had ever given him. However, he's seen time and time again of how… _useless_ he was… when _she_ needed it… "...You shouldn't do that."

He knew what he was, and it wasn't someone meant to save people.

However, she only continued to look up at him with unwavering eyes. "Well I do." She said, as though it were as simple as taking a breath.

"Well don't! You can't put faith in someone like me!"

"You saved me now didn't you?!"

He tried, he really tried to not let her words get to him. He couldn't let them. He already hurt her, and, from his experience, nothing gets better from that point on. But, it was hard to ignore her whenever she looked at him like that. As though her were placing him in her full focus and care.

"And when we first met you saved me then too. And when those people tried to kidnap me. You always helped me, and you can help me in the future by being more careful."

"...This and that are different."

"No their not! Because all those times just meant you don't want me to get hurt! I know you don't because no one would have the look you did when you saw me bleeding if they did!"

"…" He didn't know how to react to that. He didn't even know _how_ he looked. He wasn't thinking enough to even notice.

Her eyes softened again, and so did her voice. Something he didn't know this twelve year old was capable of. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I did. You didn't want to hurt me, but you did-even though I don't care about that even a little bit. And after that we both just worried, and I cried, and you avoided me, and we're both just being stupid, and this whole situation is stupid! And... I just want to forget about it... I just want to go back to being with you…"

...Rin was always like this. There was no doubt in his mind that there was nothing else to him other than a destructive monster that should have never been born. He was meant for nothing else, and there was no other purpose to his birth other than to be an experiment that only caused his… mother to suffer… And yet here Rin was, and despite everything he knew he was, and tried to have her see, she never wavered or batted an eye at the pieces of him she's seen or heard of. She even managed to find a way to smile, laugh and happily chatter at his side… Despite everything he knew he was, she still looked at him with shining teal eyes that pulled him in to drown in… "...Why are you so-"

"And Laito-kun told me that actions speak louder than words! So I got you a present…" She was about to loosen her grip on him, but paused for a moment to look up at him with serious eyes. "If you leave I'll jump off the mansion next." She said before she dropper her grip, and-with Subaru's help-her feet met the floor.

Once back on the floor she quickly dashed over to the back of the tree and grabbed whatever it was she put there. He already saw what it was before she held it up for him to grab, but he didn't really get it at first. And he still didn't get it. "...A pot?" It was a flower pot filled with nothing but dirt.

Finally, since he caught her from falling to her death, Rin had a smile on her face. It wasn't as big or bright as usual, but… he found himself feel a slight soft feeling in his chest from seeing it. "Not just that! There's a seed inside the soil. It's for a rose, but not just any rose! There were a whole bunch of different colored ones-I didn't even know there were any other colors other than red and white! I told the florist I needed the most special rose he had, so he gave me this one. It's supposed to be a yellow rose with red tips." She chattered on, and he-not in a million years-didn't want to admit how much he missed her rambles. She ended it by looking him directly in his eyes with hopeful smile. "It's an offering of peace!"

Subaru's eyes fell down to the dirt and he could only get lost… It was so odd to him. The only present he ever considered a present was when his mother gave him a knife… and that wasn't a very bright moment of his life… Here however, Rin genuinely gave him something for the sake of making whatever was strained between them better. She did it because she wanted to fix things into having him stop avoiding her. She did this because she was so stupidly… kind… that she wanted to give him something she put thought into… to make him happy... '...Every time I look away for a second, once I turn back you do something like this.'

He took his eyes off of the pot and looked down at her as she looked at him with an expression he'd never seen on her before. There was no smile, but there was a glowing hope in her eyes as she looked right into him. "...I know that you were just worried about hurting me again... but I don't like that solution. I just want to be with Subaru-kun…" With that her eyes fell down to the floor as though she were preparing for the worse.

"..." He didn't know what to think or say properly to this. To _any_ of this… He could never wrap around in his head how this girl was so stuck on the thought of just being with him… "..."

"...OW!" She cried out as Subaru harshly-but not _too_ harshly-pushed his hand down on the top of her head.

"Who said anything about me worrying?! Reiji was just annoying when he was going on about what happened!" It wasn't really what he was thinking, but it was all that could come out.

"But Laito-kun said-" She tried to look up at him, but he forced his hand down again to keep her eye level lower.

"And that damn perv is also annoying! So's everyone else in this place, so it'd be a headache if you act any more annoying than you already are, got it?!" He tried to keep her eyes away from his face, because he was worried she'd see just how red it was becoming.

A silence took over for a while, and his grip on her head loosened as he felt his face lose some of its warmth… Finally, Rin's head snapped up as she looked up at him with shining bright eyes that reflected the moon's light, and a thrilled smile that spread ear to ear. "...Got it! Whatever it takes to keep Subaru-kun in my life!" She spoke with so much energy it almost looked like it winded her.

"...God you're an idiot." Was what he responded with as he looked off to the side. Because that's what he really thought. To him, she was the biggest idiot he ever met-and he knew Ayato.

She would go off in a daze and not pay attention to her surroundings. She'd tag along with Ayato's stuppid antics. She'd walk around the mansion with her face buried in a book or comic. She'd walk into walls at least once a week. She'd eat down a stupidly large portion of food in one sitting. She'd go on babbling about nothing even if he told her she was being annoying… She'd get herself into danger and yet still not seem to grasp the fear she _should_ be feeling. She'd spend her time with a bunch of monsters and yet still manage a real smile on her face… She'd go out of her way just to make them happy…

"That's just mean-"

And, to the thought that this idiocy was all accomplished by just a twelve year old girl, he couldn't help but let a small smile form.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Rin thought that it was some mistake of her eyes for a second. Afterall, she'd only seen Subaru smile if he was smiling ironically to anger-and those were already incredibly rare. This however wasn't an angry smile, nor was her imagination.

Subaru smiled in a way that was small, but showed a moment of pure bliss. Those red eyes that she'd grown so used to blazing twenty four seven, were _glowing_. Not just that, but his hair and skin shone in the pale light of the moonlight in a way she'd never noticed before. All together, he practically looked like something out of a painting.

_*BADUMP! BADUMP!*_

Rin's hand shot up to her dark purple shirt-just over her chest-and she grew confused over the tight sensation where her heart was…

"What's wrong now?" She looked back up at his eyes as he gave her a look that hid worry in them.

She blinked up at him, just as confused as he seemed to be. "I don't know. My chest just kinda hurts." Once she thought about it, a smile grew on her face as she came to a hypothesis. "Maybe it's because I'm happy!"

He only raised a brow at her. "Does it even work that way?"

She nodded gleefully-proud to know the answer. "Yup! Reiji-kun had me read a book about the heart and stuff. Did you know veins really are _blue_? I thought it was just color coordination, but it isn't!"

So, as Subaru placed the pot down close to the other roses, Rin followed after and rambled on. Almost as though nothing happened.


	8. Game

"...Haaahhhh." The fourteen year old sighed out, creating a frosty puff into the winter air. Under layers of shirts and sweaters she leaned against the front gates of a middle school. Not just any, it was the one a certain white haired boy and a set of triplets went to. The high school was were the other two went, and she was here at the gate because she didn't want to stay at home any longer.

It was now December and they had just started going in April, but Rin was left to be home alone. She'd already asked before if she could go along with them, but Reiji insisted that it was still too soon for her to move on from home schooling. The most she's gotten from him was that she could go to school once she was old enough to enroll into the high school. Which meant for hours she had to stay home with no one else but the servants, and they've never been good at keeping her company.

Which led her here, waiting in front of the middle school because it let out sooner than the high school… Though the gates still wouldn't open for another two hours. She just didn't want to stay at home for too long without them… 'Maybe I'm too attached?' She wondered in her head as she realized how it might be because she's never known anyone else in her life.

"Are you trying to freeze your ass off?" A voice said behind her.

Rin jumped at the voice, and she turned to face it-already knowing who it was. She unconsciously gave the redhead a small pout. "Aren't you supposed to be in class Ayato-kun?" She asked.

He just shrugged lazily as he leaned in closer to the bars. "Ore-sama doesn't have to do what Ore-sama doesn't want to do."

Rin just gave him a blank look. "Reiji-kun wouldn't agree."

Ayato lightly huffed over that. "What does it matter what that otaku thinks?"

"Because he'll hide away your basketball again, and he won't make takoyaki."

She say the way he ever so slightly flinched over the takoyaki thing. However, in the blink of an eye he wasn't on the other side of the gate anymore. She turned to her side, and there he was next to her with his eyes glowing green. "Enough about that. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I'm waiting for school to be over so we can go all go home already."

"You're going to wait here for an hour?"

"No, two."

...At this Ayato was quiet for a second, and that was never a good thing. Rin could see the wheels turning behind those slit eyes. Then, to fuel Rin's worry, Ayato gave her a smirk full of mischief.

Rin felt a chill knowing all too well whatever Ayato was thinking couldn't be any good. "Ayato, whatever you're thinkin-"

However, he didn't let her finish because he went and grabbed her wrist with a speed she could never get used to. Then, she felt the familiar sensation of suddenly being somewhere else. She had to blink to try making reality clearer, and she saw she was inside walls. It took her a moment to realize what Ayato did, and once she did she felt her heart leap into her stomach.

She looked over to said redhead quickly. "Ayato what the-!" She then had her hands fly up to her mouth as she realized she was shouting in a place she wasn't supposed to be in. So, she resorted to whisper yelling. "Why are we _in_ the school?!"

Ayato just smuggle grinned as though he were the world's greatest genius. "You wanted to get in, so now you don't have to wait forever."

"I didn't say I wanted to go _in_ the school, I was just waiting for you guys to get _out_ of the school!"

Ayato slightly pouted like if Rin was insulting his master plan. "Well that'd be too boring anyways."

Rin just sighed as she tried to assess the situation. The first thing she needed to do was get out of the school, and then she needed to kill Ayato. "Ayato-kun can you just teleport me back out?" She tried to keep her voice even, but she knew how irritated she sounded.

It did not help that, once again, Ayato had a mischievous smile on his face. "How about we see how long it takes until you can get _yourself_ out?"

"...Ayato-kun I'm not in the mood for this."

"Well to bad, Ore-sama is."

"Ayato-kun would you just- and you're gone."

In the blink of an eye Rin was left alone in the empty classroom, and she could only let out a sigh as she realized what Ayato got her into.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

'I hate you so much right now Ayato!' Rin shrieked in her head as she pressed her back to the walls of the girls bathroom praying to any god she could think of that those footsteps weren't heading toward the bathroom that she was currently hiding in.

Once she could no longer hear them, she quietly counted to ten in her head before slowly walking out of the bathroom. Sighing to the sight of no one around, Rin quickly began to move down the opposite way the footsteps walk toward. 'I'll have to take the long way aroun-' She was caught off guard when she heard both footsteps and quiet chattering moving in her direction.

Immediately panicked, Rin quickly ran around the corner and pressed her hand up to her mouth as she peeked over to watch the two students walk past her. Once their chattering and footsteps were out of hearing, Rin let out a quiet sigh. 'I'm going to kill Ayato!' Was her thought before she turned to continue walking down the new hall.

However, there was a female student just a few feet away from her, and this student was staring right at Rin with a slightly surprised expression. To which, Rin froze at her spot as she realized she'd gotten game over.

In the midst of Rin trying to think of something to say or do, she heard even more footsteps coming toward her direction. 'Why is _everyone_ in the hall right now?!' Was all Rin could think in the split moment where she felt completely cornered.

Just when Rin was about to admit defeat, she felt the student grip on her wrist. Before Rin could think of what was happening, she was pulled into an empty classroom. She gathered her thoughts together and looked at the female student to see that she pressed her index finger to her lips. Rin pressed down on her lips hard, and she didn't realize she was holding her breath until she sighed out once the sound of footsteps was far gone.

Once the anxiety in Rin's chest finally began to decrease she looked over at her savior. "Um-"

"What are you doing in the school?" The student suddenly cut Rin off as she stared at her curiously.

Rin tried to gather he thoughts together, but she couldn't think of how to explain that her vampire-adopted-brother teleported her into the school. So, Rin ended up giving the other girl a sheepish smile. "Would you believe me if I said I was forced into the school?"

"..." The other girls quiet stare did not help in reducing Rin's nervousness. "...Sure, is that what happened?"

Rin blinked a few times at the reaction, and after a moment of dumbstruck, Rin, feeling the beautiful feeling of being believed, couldn't stop herself from babbling. "Yes! I have this stupid brother Ayato-kun who thought it'd be a fun idea to sneak me into the school even though I didn't want anything to do with it! Next thing I know he's gone and I'm left to try figuring out how to get out without getting caught or in trouble-" Rin's eyes slightly widened when the other girl's hand was suddenly over her mouth.

Once again the girl pressed her index finger to her lips as a well to tell Rin to be quiet. Then, she removed her hand from Rin's mouth. "How did you get into the school?" Was all she said after Rin's nonsense.

Rin thought it over in her head, but she really couldn't think of _any_ way to explain how. "... I… I can't say…"

The other girl once again just quietly stared at Rin before just nodding understandingly. "It's ok, you don't have to." Rin was left in shock by her words, and the girl only continued. "Do you want me to help you get out?"

...Once Rin's expression of complete shock was washed away, she couldn't stop a smile from growing wide on her face. This was the first time all day that someone has shown her kindness. Immediately Rin reached over to grip onto the girl's two hands in an almost prayer kind of way. "Would you really?"

The girl seemed slightly taken back by Rin's reaction, but nodded anyways. "Yeah, sure."

Rin, in an exaggerated way, almost wanted to burst out in tears of joy. "You're like an angel-!" Rin was once again cut off with a hand to her mouth and a 'shhh' motion. 'I really do have a big mouth.' Rin thought to herself.

The girl looked calmly at Rin with deep green eyes. Rin took in the girl and saw she was had olive tan skin, and dark brown hair tied nicely in a loose braid. She had a very calm and kind aura about her that Rin wasn't used to, but found comfort in. "Just follow me, and you should be fine."

Rin just smiled up at her as she nodded eagerly.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"The gate is locked, so you'll have to wait for them to open. However, no one really hangs around here, so as long as you stay hidden behind these bushes you should be fine." Rin nodded seriously as the girl told her this. "That should be all, so I'll just-"

The girl was about to walk back into the school, but Rin grabbed the sleeve of her uniform before she could get away. "Wait!" A grateful smile was painted across Rin's face as she looked up at the girl that was a good amount taller than her. "My name's Rin, what's yours?"

She blinked at Rin after a moment before answering. "Suzu."

"Well, you really saved me, so thank you Suzu-chan!" Rin said happily.

Suzu stared at her for a moment before nodding. "You're welcome." Was all she said as she turned away, but Rin could see the slight curl of her lips when she said it. So, that was enough.

With Suzu out of sight Rin just snugged her way between the bush and the side of the school and just hugged herself for some warmth.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Rin's moment of peace was interrupted when school was over. She saw students as they began to walk out of the school. Now, Rin had to figure out how to blend into the crowds. When she was just about to just stick herself behind a group of girls, she heard a loud sound that didn't seem like generic chatter. It also came from more towards the back of the school. Rin couldn't figure out what it sounded like, but it already caught her interest. At this point, she was less worried about being caught, so her confidence in walking around rose.

She slipped over to the back and she just followed the sounds, and as they became more clear she realized what she was walking towards. A heavy feeling weighed in her chest as she quickened her pace. Once she reached the scene she saw more or less what she was expecting. There was a group of girls grouped up over another girl as she was on the floor with a blank expression. It was bullying.

Rin had seen plenty of bullying from movies, books, manga, and anime, and the scene in front of her was as cliche as it could get. There was a group of self pitying girls that hurt the girl that was defenseless, and couldn't find it in her to fight for herself. The group of bullies threw insults at her that sounded like they were directly taken from a script, but the girl on the floor just held her head low without flinching. It was all typical, but it felt different to have to see it in real life…

The girl in the middle-probably the leader-raised her hand to the girl on the floor as though she were about to slap her, but, "Hey!" Rin's yell had her pause.

All the girls suddenly turned their eyes to Rin as she glared at them all with a sudden rush of determination.

"What the hell?"

"What do you want kid?"

Rin felt her lips press together as she realized she'd caught their attention. "Stop messing with that girl!" Was all she could think to say in the moment.

She noticed one of the girls laugh at what she said, and the other just rolled her eyes. Whilst, the leader just took a step closer to Rin. "Why the hell should I listen to you? Just get out of here before I report you for trespassing." Was all the attention she gave Rin before turning back to her victim.

Rin just had to take one look at the pitiful girl before the words slipped out of her mouth. "What kind of pleasure do you take out of being a bitch?!"

It was the last word that made the girl flinch, and she whipped her head around to look at Rin with a venomous look. "'Bitch?'" With that she walked over to Rin angry. "You think you have any right to say that? You intrude on something that's none of your business, and you act high and fucking mighty without even knowing what's happening. Who's the real bitch here?!"

The girl was just a foot away from Rin, but the longer she stared at this angry student she realized something. This realization made her lose any hesitation in her to say one more thing. "The one picking on someone weaker just because they're too dumb to think of any other way to deal with things." What she realized was, compared to the boys, this girl really wasn't the threatening.

In a flash the girls face flushed in anger as she raised her hand at Rin. "You little-!"

However, just as the girl's hand was going to fly down to meet Rin's cheek, there was another hand that caught the student by the wrist. Both the girl's and Rin's eyes widened at the sudden change, and Rin quickly looked up to see who it was. At the sight of the familiar face, Rin felt a quick thump in her chest and an envelope of relief. "Subaru-kun?"

Said person was glaring harshly at the girl with an iciness that seemed to make her go pale. "Do you want to die?" Once Subaru said that the girl quickly grabbed her hand back and took a shaky step back.

"I-I-"

"Rika, let's go!"

With that the girls all left quickly around the school, leaving the three there. Rin had to blink a few times to really get what happened, and once she did Rin quickly went over to the girl that was still left on the floor all by herself. Once she reached the girl-who looked at her in confusion.

Rin went down on her knees with a look of concern. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The girl stared at her for a while before quietly shaking her head.

To this, Rin smiled happily as she noticed there were also no bruises on her. "I'm glad you didn't get hurt. Can you stand up? I can get you home if you want."

The girl just stared at Rin confused until she lowered her head to the ground. "...I'm sorry."

Rin tilted her head at the odd apology. "For what?"

"You almost got hurt because of me." Was all the girl said.

Rin took a moment to really look at the girl. She had soft blue eyes framed by black glasses, and she had messy bright red hair. Rin just smiled at the girl as she shook her head. "Nope, I almost got hurt because those girls are bitches it's not your fault."

"...But… It's not their fault…"

… "I won't argue with you on that because I don't know the whole story, but it's not your fault either." Rin said matter of factly.

The girl looked up at Rin with a pitiful look. "But-"

"It's never someone's fault for getting bullied. Even if you did something bad that doesn't mean you should be treated that unfairly. I won't blame those girls if you don't want me to, but I won't blame you either. Ok?" Rin smiled down at her to reassure whatever conflictions she may be feeling.

The girl stared at Rin in an almost baffled way until she looked back down to the floor quietly. "...Thank you."

"No problem! Also, what's your name? My names Rin."

"...Akiko."

"Well do want me to get you home Akiko-chan?"

She suddenly looked up at Rin with a slightly wide eyed expression as she waved her hands in front of her. "Y-You don't need to-"

"But what if those girls come to bully you again?"

"N-No it's fine. They won't do anything while I go home."

"Hm… Are you sure?"

She nodded shyly as she continued to stare at the floor.

Rin wanted to insist, after all it worried her to leave Akiko alone. But, if she really didn't want to there was nothing Rin could do about it. Besides, the more she thought about it the more she realized she didn't want this poor girl to be in the same car as the dysfunctional boys. So, Rin was left to sigh. "If you say so, _but_ I will still walk you to the front gate, ok?"

The girl shyly looked up at Rin before nodding quietly. "...O-Ok."

"Great!" Rin said as she shot up to her feet. "Now all is well."

"No it's not." Said a voice behind her.

Rin spun around to the look the white haired boy straight in the eyes. "Oh, Subaru-kun, I forgot you were there!" Rin said as she lightly scratched the back of her head.

Subaru-as usual-looked at her annoyed. "Why are you in the school in the first place?"

Immediately remembering how this whole mess started Rin looked annoyed herself. "It's because of Ayato-kun! I was just going to wait for you guys at the front gate but then he just suddenly popped out of nowhere and thought it'd be a good idea to just sneak me into the school! Then, he leaves me alone to try figuring out how to get out myself! It's been a very stressful two hours! I almost got caught by a couple that was off making out in the-mm mmm!"

Rin's rambling was once again cut short by a hand to her mouth, and she looked up to meet exhausted red eyes. "I get it now shut up." Was all Subaru said before finally dropping his hand from her mouth.

Rin took a moment to look at Subaru before smiling in relief. "I'm just glad to see you."

Subaru flinched at her words, and Rin knew it was just because he was a little bit of a tsundere when it came to affection from anyone. "Just shut up and let's go already." With that, he began to walk slowly to the gate-she knew slowly so that she could keep up with him.

"Ok~!" Rin looked over her shoulder to Akiko-who was now on her feet-and smiled at her. "Well come on."

Hesitantly, Akiko just nodded and followed after the pair. The walk to the gate was quick, but Rin still babbled a little to Akiko with questions that only really got her nods and one worded responses. However-despite Akiko being taller than her-Rin couldn't help but think that she was _really_ cute! … Just like she also noticed that the shy girl kept glancing up at Subaru with a sort of nervous expression. Rin figured it probably had something to do with the fact that-to _other_ people-he's kind of a scary looking.

Once they finally reached the gate, Rin smiled happily at the red haired girl. "I hope you have a safe trip Akiko-chan!"

Akiko slightly flinched at the sound of her name and just nodded shyly. "Th-Thank you. You too… Um…"

Rin tilted her head as the girl had a curious expression. "What's wrong?"

Akiko fidgeted with the strap of her bag as she looked to the floor. "...Are you two… dating?"

. . . "Huh?" Rin was left confused at the question even being asked in the first place. "Oh, no! We're… Well, I guess he's technically my brother." Rin slowly realized as thought about it.

Akiko suddenly looked up at her with a slightly surprised look. "Oh, I'm sorry I assumed!"

"No no it's ok."

"...I-I really am thankful to you both."

"It's no-."

"G-Goodbye!" Was all the red haired girl said as she turned away and began pacing in the other direction.

Though Rin did noticed two things before she left. One was that there was a slight smile on her face, and the other was that her cheeks were bright red. 'Is it really that cold?' Rin thought before thinking of something. "Oh, Subaru-kun." She said as she turned around to face him again. "Do you want to borrow my scarf?" She said as she began to take off said black and white plaid scarf. "You're not wearing one." She had to get on the tip of her toes to throw the scarf around his neck messily.

Subaru just narrowed his eyes at the fabric. "I don't need it."

Rin gave him a doubtful look. "But your face is all red."

She was correct. His cheeks were dark red, it practically matched his eyes. He narrowed his eyes down at her. "Yours is too idiot."

Rin's eyes slightly widened to this being pointed out. Her hands went up to feel that, in fact, her face was burning. "I guess I was out here for a while." She muttered to herself.

"You're an idiot." As Subaru said this Rin saw his hand was reaching down to her face, and, for reasons she couldn't get, she took a quick leap back from his touch.

There was a quick second of silence before Rin just smiled happily to him. "I may be an idiot but at least I layer." She declared proudly.

Subaru just blinked at her for a moment before he clicked his tongue and turned around. "Let's just go to the car." He sounded impatient, but Rin saw his hand slightly grip on her scarf.

Rin just smiled at him. "Ok."

It only took a quick moment to walk to the car, and once they did Rin's eyes landed on the red haired boy as he grinned. "Looks like you weren't caught."

Almost immediately Rin felt a vein pop on her forehead and she glared harshly at those glowing green eyes. " _A-Y-A-T-O-K-U-N!_ " She growed with emphases on each syllable.

She was just about ready to jump at him and strangle him, but then she felt arms wrap around her waist and pick her up slightly. Once she felt the nuzzling on the top of her head she knew exactly who it was. "Rin-chan, Ayato-kun told us everything~. You poor little thing getting stuck in the school~."

"Hi Laito-kun." Rin said naturally, already being used to this from him.

Laito let out a small, content purr before setting Rin back down to her feet. She looked up at the ginger boy as he gave her that usual smile of his. "Ne, Rin-chan, why didn't you just call one of us to get you out of the school? It would have saved you the trouble."

Rin tried to keep herself from flinching at the question and just continued to smile into his green eyes. "Reiji's been saying your grades all suck, so I didn't want to bother your class time." 'I didn't want to be a burden…' There was a tight feeling in Rin's chest from this thought, but she just continued to smile.

"It would have been annoying to have to fix Ayato's mess." Kanato said very moodily.

"Besides!" Rin cut in with a smile so easy to place it's practically become second nature. "I figured it wouldn't be _that_ hard to sneak _out_ of a school."

"Of course it wouldn't be hard for you." Rin looked over to Ayato, confused to what he meant. "You're too short to be noticed in the first place."

Rin felt her face redden out of anger at those words. Laito's arms wrapped around her again to hold her back, but her limbs were still flailing at him comically as she glared harshly at him. "I'm not that short!"

"Oh yeah, how tall are you anyways? 100cm?"

"I'm 152.4cm you dick!"

"That's puny." Ayato laughing only made Rin's face go a brighter red.

"Shut up, I'm still growing!"


	9. Run

Rin quietly hummed to herself as she leaned against the entrance of the high school. A smile naturally on her face as she scrolled through her phone's contact list. Once she found "Shuu" in her phone she quickly pushed the call button. It took a whole four rings until he answered the phone-which was normal. " _What?"_

"I'm in front of the school and I have yours and Reiji's chocolates!" She was upset that the boys had already left when she woke up, but she figured she'd just remain happy for the holiday and hand out all their obligation chocolates the hard way. "...Shuu-kun?"

"Yeah?" Rin jumped when she heard his voice right behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled happily at the oldest Sakamaki boy. "Hi Shuu-kun!" She turned to face him as she dug through the bag that she had on her. Quickly she pulled out a little box with the ribbon messily tied on the top. "Here's your obligation chocolate!"

Shuu stared at the box for a moment before slowly taking it. He pulled the ribbon on one end, and it all easily came undone. He opened the box and found four strawberries coated in milk chocolate. He blinked at it before picking one up to eat.

"I thought it'd be fun to try something different for all of you guys-since you're all so different. Do you like it?" She spoke this all up quickly as Shuu took a bite out of the strawberry.

When he swallowed down the piece he looked down at Rin as she stared up at him with anticipating eyes… He patted her head lightly-something he's done for years. "It's good." Was all he said, but that was enough to make Rin feel proud of herself.

"That's good." With that she dug into her bag again, and pulled out another wrapped box-this one was taller and a little thicker than Shuu's. "Can you give this one to Reiji-kun? I wanted to give it to him myself, but I figured he'd just get mad that I'm disturbing him at school." Rin knew how much Reiji valued his study time, and she knew he'd just tell her to go back home.

Shuu just took the box, but Rin could see he was unhappy with the idea of giving it to Reiji, and Rin realized why. Ever since she first got there she could tell there was a strain between the two brothers. Of course, all the boys had their issues with eachother, but it was especially Shuu and Reiji.

"Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to-"

"You have more chocolate to give out don't you?" Shuu cut in, pointing at the Harry Potter bag Rin had full of more chocolate-and the two books to keep her busy.

She blinked up at him until she looked back down at her bag. "Well I do have some more but-" Rin was cut off by Shuu lightly shoving her in the directing of the car parked on the curb.

"Then go and deliver them already."

Once Shuu was done pushing, Rin turned around to protest but saw he wasn't there anymore… "Haaaaahhhhh… You didn't have to if you didn't want to…" Rin just walked over to the car, ready to drop her off at the middle school. Her spirits already put down so early in the day. 'Have I already been a burdon today?"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

'Ayato-kun why don't you ever pick up your damn phone?!' Rin yelled in her head as she was sent to voicemail for the fifth time.

She'd already gotten permission from the office to go into the school-because she didn't want to have to sneak in like last time. She just sighed out defeatedly as she walked down to her destination. The woman at the front desk-who was so nice-told Rin where Ayato's class was. So, she figured she'd just ask Ayato where the other three were.

'Ah! 4-D, Ayato-kun's class!' Rin felt relief from finding it. She was upset that Ayato didn't answer his phone, but that's because she knew he wouldn't care about class, so that just made her feel like he was actually ignoring her… but… but maybe Ayato was actually trying to pay attention in class, and Rin was just bugging him… 'No, he probably just let his phone die again.'

With that in mind Rin just went ahead and opened the door. She'd already gotten a general idea of what classrooms were like from her books and anime, so that didn't take her by surprise. What _did_ take her off guard was that once she opened the door the entire class went silent and their eyes were on her-even the teacher stopped to look.

Rin wasn't one to be nervous, and she didn't _think_ she had stage fright, but she realized she didn't know what to say to the class full of students. "Uh…" She glanced around, but, to her _absolute_ confusion, Ayato was _not in there!_ "..." She glanced at the class room number, but it did say 4-D, and she couldn't see how she could have misread it. So, she looked back into the class unsure of what was happening. Nothing else to do, Rin just looked over at the teacher. "Do you know where Ayato Sakamaki is?"

The teacher-who was originally just confused-suddenly looked annoyed at the sound of his name. "Your guess is as good as mine. Why? Did you come here to report a complaint?"

'Oh that's not good to hear.' "No, I'm actually his sister-"

"Rin-san?"

Immediately, Rin recognized the soft voice behind her, and she looked around to see the familiar red head-that _wasn't_ a ditching ass. "Akiko-chan!" Once she noticed the female student standing in the hall, she just quickly looked at the teacher. "I'll borrow her real quick!" Before closing the door.

Akiko looked at Rin very confused with her face tinted red-she tend to do that a lot. "What are you doing here?"

Rin just smiled happily at her. Since the "Ayato-incident" a few months ago, Rin's been talking to Akiko nearly everyday when she's waiting at the school gate for the rest of the boys. She's grown to really like Akiko. "I'm just trying to deliver obligation chocolates to the boys. Problem is I have _no_ idea where Ayato-kun is, and your teacher didn't seem to know either. I also didn't know you two were in the same class."

Akiko blinked for a moment, seeming to try registering all of what Rin said. Rin wa aware that she had a habit of saying too much too fast. "I actually didn't know Ayato was in my class. I don't really see him."

'Reiji-kun's not going to like _that_.'

"But I did just change classes last term, so…"

"Hah. Either way, he still shouldn't be skipping class. Oh, right. Happy Valentines Day, Akikio-chan~." Rin sang out the last part, happy with almost every holiday really.

Akiko's face turned red at this, and shly returned Rin's smile. "H-Happy Valentines Day."

"I was thinking about giving you chocolate, but-since I've only ever celebrated with the boys-I wasn't sure whether or not girls got each other chocolates." Every valentines day-after first learning about it at eleven-Rin would just buy chocolates for the boys-which was great because then they would all give _her_ chocolates for White Day-but _this_ year she made them herself… decently.

Akiko just smiled understandingly at Rin. "It's fine, usually… Usually girls don't give eachother chocolates."

"I figured, but that still kind of takes some fun out of it. Maybe I should have just made you chocolates anyways."

"N-No, it's fine!" Akiko was turning red.

Then, a thought occurred to Rin, and this thought made her eyes shine up brightly at Akiko. "Akiko-chan, did you make chocolates for anyone today?!"

At this, Akiko's face turned the brightest red Rin had ever seen it. "I-I-I-"

"Who'd you make it for?! Is it _special_ chocolate? Are you going to confess?!"

Akiko was fumbled for a while, only being able to let out small unreadable sounds. Until, she just looked down to the floor-her entire face still blushing deep red. "...yes…" She said it so quietly Rin was only barely able to hear it.

To that, Rin's face beamed with excitement. Somehow, she felt like a proud parent to hear this from the ever so shy and timid Akiko. "Who is it?! Do I know them?! I probably don't. What do they look like?!"

Rin's questions only got Akiko more flustered, and before Akiko was forced to say anything else, the classroom door opened. Rin looked over to see it was a fairly tall girl, with short pale blue hair, with her bangs swept to the side-covering one eye-her eyes were a matching pale blue as they looked down to Akiko-who was only a few centimeters shorter. Akiko met her eyes with slightly confusion. "Yuki-san?"

The girl-Yuki-had a blank look in her eyes, and she had a very calm aura around her. "Sensei said to hurry up." Her voice was as cold as her name, and-if she didn't grow up with the people that she did-Rin would have felt a chill from that voice.

Akiko smiled apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry Yuki-san. Um…" Akiko looked back to Rin, but their earlier exchange still seemed to have her blushing. "I'm not sure, but I think Ayato-san might be in the gym playing basketball. That's where people usually say he skips to."

"The gym? Of course, how did I not think that?" Rin said a little dramatically before looking back to Akiko, thankful. "Thanks Akiko-chan, good luck with your confession~." She whispered the last part since the door to the classroom was still open.

Akiko's blush darked to the sound of that. And, right before Rin was going to turn around to leave toward the gym, Akiko stopped her. "R-Rin-san?"

"Huh?"

"Um… A-Are you giving chocolates to… _all_ of them?"

Rin blinked at this a little confused before just smiling. "Of course, they're all practically my brothers."

Akiko nodded to this, and smiled, but Rin thought she saw some distress in those green eyes. "O-Ok, good luck then." With that, Akiko walked into the class.

Rin was about to say a quick "thanks" to Akiko but stopped when she noticed Yuki was now staring at Rin with those same blank eyes… No, they weren't the same. They were colder, almost like if she was glaring at her. However, Yuki just nod at her and close the door to the class…

Now slightly confused, Rin just decided to go to the gym to look for a different red head.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Ayato had the ball now, and he also had that- _stupid_ -grin that showed he was confident of victory. He dribbled across the court, and moved faster than any of the other boys could keep up with. However, the opposing team built their own little wall to keep him from moving forward. Ayato could have gone around, he had the ability to maneuver and get closer, but he had that smile that said he wanted to leap at risks. So, at the 3-point-line he positioned himself to make the shot. He then went up and was just about to throw the ball into the basket-

"AYATO-KUN~!"

And the ball flew but missed, just like Rin hoped it would. Now clearly annoyed, Ayato looked over to Rin, who was casually standing near the entrance to the gym and grinned at him happy with her mischief. "What the hell to you want Chibi!" Ayato's name calling couldn't get to her because she knew she won when she made him miss.

However, she still tried to play the innocent card. She pretended to look hurt by his yelling, and said in a high voice: "I only wanted to give my big brother some obligation chocolates for valentines day. I didn't mean to make you miss."

The other boys looked at Ayato a little accusingly-but not _too_ much because they were clearly still afraid of him-but Ayato just shot her a look that said he didn't believe in her act. "I don't want your stupid chocolate. Now get out of here. I'm busy trying to show these wimps their place."

Ayato was about to just turn his back to her, but Rin didn't drop her smile because she knew all she had to say to get him to eat it. "It's takoyaki."

. . . "I'm taking a break!" Ayato yelled to the guys on the court, and the guys in a line outside the court.

Rin smile triumphantly-unaware to how similar her smile was to Ayato's. She took out the box for Ayato and opened it to reveal takoyaki that was-thankfully-still smoking. "I looked up yesterday how to make chocolate takoyaki, and I found this one." Rin said, very proud of herself for the idea.

Ayato didn't meet her eyes as he ate down one of the takoyaki. Rin didn't need to ask him if he liked them because he just went off to eat a second one right after. Rin couldn't help but smile as she saw the closest to approval he'd be giving her for the chocolate. Ayato finally looked down at her as he swallowed down the second one, and raised a brow at her. "What's with the smile?"

Rin wasn't one to be _especially_ sentimental, especially with Ayato, but she did keep smiling. "I'm just thinking about what Reiji will do when I tell him you skipped out on class to play basketball."

If Ayato was still eating, he'd probably have choked on it, that's the kind of look he gave her. But he quickly covered it up with an indifferent look. "Like if I care!"

Rin just kept smiling. "Well, I think you should enjoy this takoyaki because it'll be a _long_ time until your tongue grows back."

To this Ayato narrowed his eyes at her, now realizing what she was playing at. "What do you want?"

Rin smiled innocently. "Why would I want something?" Ayato just glared more intently at her, and Rin couldn't help but giggle a little-she hardly had chances to put him in her shoes. "Weeeelll, maybe Reiji won't hear about this… If you give me your dessert for dinner."

"Fine."

"Yahoo!" Rin cheered as she handed Ayato the box of his leftovers. "Also, do you know where the others are? I know their classes, but lunch is soon. Plus I don't know if they just skipped like you did."

Ayato didn't look at her as he just ate down the rest of the takoyaki. "Kanato hangs out in the sewing room, and you'll find Laito in the upstairs closet-the one next to the girls bathroom. And I have no idea where Subaru goes off to."

'Well, at least that's two out of three.' "Thanks anyways." She said as she started heading out the door. "Remember that dessert!"

Ayato just waved her off, but he didn't notice she still had a little sly smile. Afterall, it didn't matter if _she_ told Reiji because eventually the school was going to have to. Rin just wanted to enjoy messing with the troublemaker.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

As she thought, Kanato wasn't in his class, so she just asked directions from the teacher to where the sewing room was. She was currently at the door, and she didn't skip a beat to open it, and once she did the sound of pencil running on paper stopped. It didn't take long for her to see it was Kanato that was scribbling on paper, and once he stopped he just sent a vicious glare at the door.

" _Who barged in?_ " However, his glare dropped considerably once he saw it was Rin at the door, as she smiled delightfully at his- _cute_ -face. "Why are you here?" He was still annoyed but he got up from his seat to face her.

Rin practically skipped over to Kanato and beamed up at him as she took out his box from her bag. "Happy Valentines Day~! I got you and the others obligation chocolates."

Kanato didn't even let her finish before taking the box and opening it, but Rin just found his impatience cute. Once he saw the chocolate-that really just looked like regular chocolate-he sat down and just started eating. "It's sweeter than normal." He quietly commented.

This made Rin smile. "Uh huh, I added extra sugar in your chocolates." Rin couldn't think of what else to do for Kanato-other than something that would take _far_ more skill than she had-so she was a little sad that all she could think of was extra sugar. However, it made her happy to see that he liked it, even though-like Ayato-he wouldn't say it.

She just smiled fondly as she watched him eat them. She couldn't help herself from lightly stroking the top of his head-purple locks running through her fingers. He looked up at her with annoyance him his eyes. "I'm not a dog."

Rin just smiled and instead hugged him tightly. "No, Kanato-kun isn't a dog." It always made Rin happy that Kanato didn't push her away when she hugged him, because she knew he pushed others away. 'Kanato-kun isn't a dog, Kanato-kun is part of my family.' This thought made Rin feel a rare sense of relaxation.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

'No wonder their grades are so bad.' Rin thought to herself as she went up to the upstairs closet, _after_ seeing that Laito wasn't in his class either. 'Though, Laito-kun probably just skipped because it's Valentines day.' Rin knew Laito was one who liked… _romance?_

Either way Rin found the bathroom that Ayato-kun was talking about, and right when she did the bell rang, signaling that it was lunchtime. Rin just felt a little annoyed since that meant she'd have to try _tracking down_ Subaru to give him his present.

She just sighed and opened the door. She then _immediately_ regretted opening the door.

"Ahh~! Oooh~! Laito-kun~! Ahhhh~!"

"Haha, let out more of your voice~."

"N-Nooo~!"

"AAAHHHHH!" Rin could only scream and quickly shut the door with her eyes widened into two large orbs and her face drained of all color.

"Oh, are you there Rin-chan?" Rin heard Laito's voice through the door casually as if _that_ wasn't happening.

Rin just quickly took out the box of messily made chocolate macaroons and placed it in front of the door. "Imadeyouchocolateforvalentine'sdaybyenow!" Rin quickly spat out and ran as _far_ away from that door as she could.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Reiji looked down annoyed at his desk as he saw that there was a pile of boxes on his desk, like usual on this bothersome holiday. What annoyed him most was that there was a _disgusting_ scent on one of them. He knew this scent to belong to the eldest brother, _Shuu_.

Reiji had left for the library and came back for a book he'd left in his desk, and he knew the scent as soon as he'd walked into the room. Under all the abhor, there was confusion as to why the scent was there in the first place. He looked through the pile-most of which he was either going to throw away or give to Rin or Kanato. He found the box that was tied with a ameture hand.

A part of him wanted to just throw away the thing so that he could be saved from having to smell it the rest of the school day-it was bad enough he had to smell it when he got home. However, another part-possibly his curious side-lead him to opening the box to see what was inside. Once he opened it he noticed there was a not sitting atop of everything else. He placed the box down on his desk-moving aside the other stuff-and opened the letter to see a handwriting he recognized.

" _Happy Valentine's Day, Reiji-kun!"_

He knew this was Rin's handwriting. He'd made her write enough essays to recognize that. So, now aware it wasn't _Shuu_ , he looked through the box and found a little teacup wrapped in clear wrapping paper, and chocolate inside the cup. He looked around it, and immediately felt a vein pop when he saw the engravement.

The teacup itself was average, and looked like it wasn't worth too much. And engraved on the side, in _gold_ was: Best Mother Ever.

Words couldn't describe how stupid he thought this gift was, and he went on in a rant in his head to try finding the word. However, regardless of how stupid he thought it was, even if he wouldn't admit it or made excuses, he put the cup back into the box with extra care. He didn't even want to admit that he'd probably eat the chocolate at home, in order to just give her feedback on it as soon as he could.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

'Repress. Repress. Repress.' Rin kept chanting to herself over and over hoping the chant would work. Thankfully the room was dark, Laito had her back to her, and he was wearing clothes. However, that _could never erase the sounds_ …

She sighed as she just accepted she's been traumatized. Realizing she only had one chocolate left, she just decided to focus on that. It was Subaru's she was pretty proud of. Since she made it-as well as she could-in the shape of a rabbit. She couldn't help herself. She just wanted to tease him a little since whenever she did his face would turn bright red. He'd probably get so mad he'd break something, but that was always funny...until Reiji got involved.

Either way, Rin was excited to give Subaru his, which is probably why she saved him for last. 'Now the hard part is to just look for him. It'll probably take a while, but I have all the time in the- Oh speak of the devil.'

To her surprise, all Rin had to do to find him was look out the window. She was on the second floor, and she looked out to see he was at the...she had no idea but it was outside and barren. She was ready to just open the window and yell down at him, but then she noticed he wasn't alone.

Rin could immediately recognize the person by their hair. 'Akiko-chan?' Once she noticed who it was with him and when she saw there was something in her hand, Rin felt something make her go frozen. She watched as Akiko's mouth moved, saying something Rin couldn't hear, and before she could even breath, Akiko closed her eyes tightly, her face bright red, and she held out a heart shaped box for Subaru to take. After that, what felt like the longest seconds of Rin's life, Subaru nodded and reached out to took it from her hands-

_BAM!_

Rin jumped at the sound of her bag falling to the ground-she didn't even realize she'd lost her grip on it. Just as she was about to quickly go down and grab it, she glanced out the window and found her eyes met with a pair of red ones…

She didn't know why she ducked, she didn't know why she had the sudden urge to hide. She just guessed it was because she'd just been caught eavesdropping. Without knowing what else to do, she just grabbed up her bag and quickly ran in any direction with her head down.

All the halls she ran down were empty and lifeless, which only left her to think about what she just saw. This was a happy thing right? She'd seen confession scenes in her books and anime, and they were all meant to be happy. The more Rin thought about it, the more she thought about how unruly and stupid Subaru tended to be, so him finding a girl that _actually_ liked him was a good thing… So then, why was her chest squeezing in itself? Why did something feel like it was tearing? And why was she running away?

Right as this thought came to her mind, Rin stopped her running and just sat down… She opened her bag and realized the chocolate she made for Subaru was crushed by her books when she dropped her bag. The bunny was snapped down the middle, and it was broken into smaller pieces here and there… 'Guess I'm not giving Subaru-kun chocolate this year-' Her eyes widened as she realized a drop of water fell down into the bag, and another, and another. She felt her cheek and felt the tears streaming. 'Why?... Is it because the chocolate broke?... Why am I…?' She felt pathetic to be crying in a middle school hallway, without even knowing why. She tried to think it over in her head, but the heavy feeling in her stomach wasn't helping her in thinking… She tried, but all that came to mind was that she needed to stop crying.

"Rin?" She snapped out of it at the sound of her name and she looked up to see the same red eyes that met hers just moments ago. She felt her heart stop at the sight of him, and his eyes widened when she met his. "Oi, why the hell are you crying?"

'Say something!' But she was still unsure herself. So, when in doubt, she just tried forcing a smile, even though she couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "I-I accidentally broke your chocolate, so… I-I'm just being silly~." She tried to keep her breathing checked, but it hurt. It hurt to not breath in more than usual. It all hurt in her chest and stomach, but why? "But I guess it's all fine anyways!" Why? She still didn't know, why. "Afterall, I saw A-Akiko-chan gave you some chocolates," She couldn't figure out why it stung so badly, "so you don't need mine." It almost burned the more seconds that passed, and no matter how much she tried to wipe away her tears, they just kept pooling down. She felt like an idiot. A pathetic, stupid, idiot-

"She didn't give me chocolates."

'...Huh?' Rin looked up at Subaru confused as he held out the heart shape box for her.

"She wanted me to give them to you."

. . . "Wh-What?" Rin blinked her moist eyes as she hesitantly reached up to take the box in her hands. She looked at it and saw it did say from Akiko _to Rin_ …

"She said there was a note in there for you to read."

'...HUH?!' "Ooooh. Oh! Oh, shit! A-Akiko-chan? I-I-" 'She said she was giving chocolates to someone _special_ but-!' Rin just stared dumbfounded at the gift and she didn't know what to say about it. Suddenly her mind was wrapped in questions mostly around "what" and "why."

"...Is that really why you were crying?"

Once again, Rin was snapped out of her dilemma by Subaru's voice. However, this time when she look up those eyes of his were about two feet away from her face, since he suddenly decided to kneel down in front of her.

For a moment, Rin could only stare at those eyes, and as she realized that-although a new weight has grown on her chest after realizing her friend has essentially confessed to her-the large weight and pain from earlier has suddenly gone away. Wheels turned in Rin's head as she began to trace the dots and slowly, but surely, she began to realize _why_ everything hurt so much just a moment ago.

Once reality hit her, she also realized just how _close Subaru was to her face!_ She let out a weak gasp before suddenly backing up from him. This caused her to bang the back of her head on the wall of the hallway. She then curled up in pain as her hands curled up to the pain in her head.

"What the hell you idiot!"

She peeked up through her black bangs and saw his hand reach over to her. So, she quickly got up to her feet-with her bag and heart shaped box tightly in her grip-she stared down at the confused vampire. She realized her stomach had a new uncomfortable feeling, her eyes were dry but wide, and her face never felt so heated before. "I-I-I-!" She couldn't think of what to say, but his eyes still remained on her, making her feel like he was trying to look _through_ her.

So, feeling foreign feelings, and having only _just_ realized what they meant, all Rin could think to do was… Run. Just run. And leave an even _more_ confused Subaru alone in the hallway. The only thought going through her head was: 'D-Don't tell me I...!' Making her face flare up into a dark red.


	10. Rejection

'H-How did I end up here?' Rin quietly thought to herself as Suzu-whom she hadn't seen since the day she helped her out of the school-calmly poured herself a cup of tea. They were currently sitting alone in an empty club room, and Suzu had put a tea maker in the room and her homework spread across the small table in the room. There was also a pillow and blanket spread out in one of the corners of the room.

Rin looked back to how she was running through the halls-for the third time that day-and had run into Suzu. Rin could only ramble random words that didn't make sense, and Suzu just wordlessly dragged her off into the room she currently was in.

Glancing over at the abductor, Suzu looked about the same as she did the day Rin first met her. She never saw Suzu by the gates-like she did Akiko-and she never went back into the school since last time. Rin had even asked the boys and Akiko if they knew Suzu, but none of them did. This would have made Rin immediately think that Suzu was a ghost-like in that one anime-but then she realized the only people she asked were very antisocial people.

She looked about the same, face wise as least, and her hair color was the same But, Rin did notice some differences. Firstly, her dark brown hair was no longer in a braid, instead it was let down and the tips lightly brushed her lower back as she moved. Suzu's eyes were the same calm, dark green Rin remembered, but there was somehow something different in them, like if there was a different shade to them, or as if there was something new behind them.

The last thing Rin noticed was something she thought was just in her head, but it was bugging her. Something about Suzu's aura just _felt_ different. It was the same calming aura she had before, but there was something else. It was felt… warmer around her, and Rin felt more drawn to her. It was odd, but Rin was sure it was only in her head… However… something about it felt… and familiar.

"Would you like some black tea?" Suzu's question snapped Rin out of her thoughts.

Rin looked up at those green eyes, and she just smiled and nodded. "Sure."

Suzu didn't say another word as she slowly poured another cup for Rin. Once she was done she placed the steaming cup in front of her. Before Rin could thank her Suzu immediately sat down and looked her dead in the eyes. "Why do you look so frantic, and as though you were crying?"

Rin flinched at the question and tried to play it off with another smile. "Well I did just get traumatized by walking in on Laito-kun so that's about i-"

To her surprise, Suzu reached across the tabled to gently place her hand on top of Rin's. "What's wrong Rin-san?"

Suzu's hand felt very warm, and that feeling of odd familiarity intensified and enveloped her. Her heart raced faster, and she felt a shiver run through her spine. Normally, Rin was good at just brushing things off and ignoring inner turmoils so she could bury them later. However, with Suzu gently holding her hand, and this warm feeling sweeping over her, Rin couldn't stop herself from spilling out everything.

It took a while for Rin to explain everything that happened from seeing Subaru and Akiko through the window to her running away from him after having a revelation. Through it all Rin trembled lightly, and Suzu absorbed every word. Rin would stumble on her words when explaining what she felt, but Suzu would calmly wait for her to form the words.

When she was finally done explaining everything Rin let out a sigh, feeling everything that suddenly piled on her chest disappear. Suzu took her hand away-Rin felt the odd feeling decrease when she did-and she kept her eyes on Rin as she looked to be thinking. "You know what it is that you feel for Subaru-san, correct?"

Rin felt her face flush again at the thought of it, and only nodded shyly-something she wasn't used to doing.

Suzu continued. "Do you want to tell him?"

"I-I JUST FOUND OUT!"

"So, no?"

Rin thought about it and she felt unsure, she _just_ figured out how she felt, and so she didn't know what to do about it now. How could she think of what to do after only half an hour of realizing she _had_ to do something?! "I...I don't know."

"In a normal situation, it would make sense to take time before making a decision, but the fact that you live with him makes this situation abnormal. So, there's really no avoiding him, and you do need to come to a conclusion as soon as you can." Suzu said very simply.

This made Rin feel her heart plummet to her stomach. She hadn't even thought about how they were always together-she hadn't _thought_ anything! "I don't know if I should tell him though." She quietly muttered.

Suzu seemed to have heard what she said, and thought about it for a moment. "...You're sure you feel the way that you do?"

Once again, Rin's face flared up, but this time she really thought about it. About all the times she followed after him. About all the times she'd catch herself staring at him. All the times she'd hug him and tease him. All the times she'd stay up late thinking about him adoringly. All the times she simply wanted to be near him. All the times she felt light and dizzy just from seeing his rare smile. All the times… All the times she just felt sane with him… Rin slammed her face into the table, and groaned quietly as she realized her pounding heart wasn't lying to her… "...Yes." She whispered in a defeated voice.

The room was left in silence for a moment. "Rin-san?" Rin finally sat up straight in her seat and looked to Suzu-with new found desperation. "Do you want anything out of it?"

Rin was left confused by this question. "What do you mean anything?"

"Do you want him to return your feelings?"

To that, Rin couldn't stop herself from picturing a cheesy shoujo scene between them two. Not only did the image seem completely ridiculous in her head, but it did make her face flush up into smokes. "I-I-!" Rin felt her brain begin to melt down as she cupped her burning cheeks with her trembling hands. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!'

Then, Suzu once again reached over and gently held Rin's arm in her hand. Rin's eyes snapped to look into her green eyes, and that feeling took over again, and she felt her heart rate calmly drop. "Calm down Rin-san." She slowly breathed in and out as she calmed herself down. Once she did Suzu pulled her hand back. "That's probably the question you'll have to ask yourself to find out what you need to do."

Rin looked down at her empty cup, and took in Suzu's calming voice. "I guess…"

"...What about Akiko-san?" Suzu asked.

This lead Rin to once again have a snap in her memory. She slowly slumped down until her face was once again on the table, and she let out an exhausted moan. "I forgot about thaaaat… I guess the first thing to do is to read her letter."

"That would make sense." Suzu stated matter of factly as she got up and collected both their cups.

Rin looked over at the clock and noticed that more time had passed then she thought… "Wait! Suzu-chan, don't you have classes?!"

Suzu didn't look up to Rin as she rinsed out their cups in a conveniently placed sink. "The teachers will let something like this slide."

"But-"

"It really is fine Rin-san. I won't get in trouble." With that she turned around to actually face Rin. "I'll head to class right now, but you may stay here longer to think things over if you please."

As Suzu began to collect her things to leave, Rin quickly jumped up to her feet and looked to Suzu. "Th-Thank you for helping me, Suzu-chan."

She looked at Rin slightly baffled and a ghost of a smile grew on her lips. "It's good to see you're the same as before, Rin-san."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Dear Rin,

I'm sure this present is a surprise, and I'm sorry for having to trouble you with this. You don't have to read this is you don't want to. I'll understand if you simply throw this all away without even opening this letter. I'd even understand if you never want to see me again.

If I were being honest, for a while now, I've liked you. Not in a friend way, in a romantic way. I know this might seem shocking, or even disgusting, after all we're both girls. But, that's how I feel. I've thought of telling you a few times before, but I felt afraid to see how you might react. You were always very kind to me, and you were always so honest and outgoing. You were just very bright, and I enjoyed all the times we'd speak together, even if they were short. I'm sorry I have to ruin it with this.

Do you remember Rika? It was the girl who you saved me from the first time we met. The truth is she was doing that to me, because I'd just confessed feelings for her the day before. That's why I said it wasn't their fault they did those things to me, I understood that they were disgusted, just as I'd understand that you probably are as well.

I'm sorry that I have these feelings, and I'm sorry you have to listen to them. I wanted to keep these feelings in, but it hurt to keep this from you. Afterall, you were always smiling so kindly at me, even though I was keeping such a secret from you. I understand if you never want to see me, and I'd understand if you wanted to hit me. I just wanted you to know, so that I wouldn't be keeping you in the dark.

From, Akiko

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"I'm sorry Akiko-chan!" That was the first thing Rin said once the door to the room was closed. After the their last class was over, Rin all but dragged Akiko off to the same room she'd let it all out with Suzu. She blurted out her apology as she bowed down low in front of Akiko. "I can't return your feelings." She straightened up and looked directly at Akiko as she looked taken a back.

She looked down to the floor as she fiddled with her fingers. "...Y-You didn't have to go through the trouble-"

"It's not trouble. You were honest with yourself, and I wanted to be honest right back." Rin saw the way Akiko's face lit up in red, and she went on. "Also, there's no possible reason for me to ignore or hit you just because you tell me you like me."

At this Akiko just went back to looking at the floor, and shame was painted all across her red face. Rin couldn't believe she missed seeing Akiko's feeling before, how she felt was always painted so clearly on her face. "...D-Doesn't it make you feel sick to know how I feel?" She sounded so meek as she said this, and so miserable.

Quickly Rin took a step forward-noticing Akiko's flinch. "Of course not. I don't think it's disgusting that you like me. I just can't return your feelings."

Akiko didn't look too convinced. "But-"

Rin grabbed Akiko's hands in hers and looked her right into her wide, blue eyes. "You shouldn't think your feelings are bad just because the person you like is a girl. There's nothing wrong with you for having feelings for someone, and that's final. I don't hate you, and I don't think there's anything wrong with you."

Akiko's face became as red as her hair, and she looked at a loss for words.

Slowly, Rin dropped her grip on Akiko's hands, but she kept her eyes on her. "I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, and that's all I feel."

Akiko stared at Rin for a moment, and then silently looked down to the floor. Then, she began to cry.

Taken completely off guard Rin immediately worried she did something. She had hoped that just saying things as they came to mind would work, but now she was beginning to think that it was the wrong call. "A-Akiko-chan?! Are you ok?"

Surprising Rin even more, Akiko just laughed lightly as she looked to her with a sad smile. "No, I'm a little heartbroken after all."

Guilt plummeted in Rin's, but she supposed she was expecting that. However, that didn't make the blow any worse.

Before Rin could think of any words of comfort to say Akiko continued. "But, thank you, Rin-san." It was Akiko's turn to make Rin baffle, for there was no trace of lie in Akiko's voice, only genuine thanks.

Akiko made her way back to the door, and Rin quickly looked over at her. "Akiko-chan!" She paused at the door, but she didn't look to the smaller girl. "You should never feel sorry for liking someone."

… It was the last thing Rin could think to say to her before she looked over her shoulder with a soft smile and tear stained cheeks. Akiko nodded once and quietly left the room.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Subaru had no idea what to do. Since he first found Rin in the halls, she's been acting weird, and not the kind he was used to. She was crying, turning red, and suddenly ran off without an explanation. It would have been easier to find her if it wasn't for the fact that-not only was he too shocked to move for a minute-but he also couldn't track her through scent! Finally, he sees her again; and she sits as far away from him in the car as possible, doesn't look him in the eyes, doesn't even _talk_ to him, and as soon as they get home she ran off into the kitchen.

Now, he was left very annoyed in the garden. He had to try keeping his temper under control while he was pulling out more weeds-they just won't stop growing! He wanted to ask her what the hell was wrong with her, but he knew she barricaded herself in the kitchen for a reason, and if he tried to demand answers she'd just do what she always does. Deny until the subject is dropped. Usually he wouldn't be _this_ annoyed about it because he knew she'd eventually tell him once they were alone together, but this time she was _avoiding_ him!

He looked at the white rose in front of him and just somehow felt even more annoyed. He couldn't really pinpoint down what he was mad at. He knew it had something to do with the fact that she was acting crazy out of nowhere without _any_ explanation, but he still couldn't think why his blood was boiling this much. He usually didn't think too much about what was getting him mad, but this time just felt infuriating for some reason. It wasn't because she was running away from him. It wasn't because she wasn't babbling to him like usual. And it most certainly wasn't because he felt worried about her only to be completely shut out by her…

As he tried to shake those thoughts out of his head, the image that kept clinging to his mind was the one where he found her in the middle of an empty hall with her eyes poured out tears… To which he only found himself more annoyed.

'Fine!' He thought to himself in pure frustration. 'If she wants to go off and avoid me, just let her! It's much more peaceful without her mouth talking a mile anyways-!'

"S-Subaru-kun!" This voice immediately shut off all thoughts and anger he had for a split moment, and he quickly looked over his shoulder to see said raven haired girl as she stood a good few feet behind him.

However, after a quick moment, he caught himself and put on his usual scowl. He got up to his feet and looked at her annoyed. "Huh?"

Once he did he noticed how she was holding herself. She held something behind her back as she slightly swayed side to side. It also took him a moment to realize her face was tinted red. However, he tried to suppress any curiosity and concern and tried to just focus on being angry. It wasn't very easy though, when he noticed that her eyes were not looking directly at him-like they usually did.

Before he could snap at her to say whatever it was that she wanted to say, she quickly pulled out the thing she as fidgeting with behind her. He blinked down at it. It was a...something wrapped (very very badly) in red wrapping paper. "It's chocolate." She said in a voice Subaru had never heard from her before. She was usually bubbly in the way she spoke, but now she was somehow more subdue-like if her energy was drained out of her.

He looked back to the "chocolate" in her hand. He had to hold back from saying it looked like trash. He'd forgotten that it was valentine's day, and that she'd made him chocolate earlier-only to break it. This time, she just kept holding it out to him, but she wouldn't say anything or even _look_ at him.

Not knowing what else to do, and, frankly, being weirded out by the way she was acting, he just walked a little closer to ehr and took the thing out of her hand. It was cold in his hand, and when he unwrapped it-which wasn't very hard-and he saw it was actually chocolate. It was a block of milk chocolate, and he was taken off guard by the fact that it was in the shape of a heart. However, what _really_ took him off guard were the words written on it in a darker chocolate. In her handwriting, it said: I don't want to date you.

. . . "What the hell is this?!" He shouted, more out of disbelief than actual anger.

Rin was usually someone that was quick to answering questions, or simply always had something to say back. However, she looked caught up in her own head to say something. He head began to lower, and her fingers began to fidget with the hem of her sweater.

Then, he noticed that her face was turning red… '...Is it still cold?' He thought, confused, to himself. He then began to worry again-not that he'd admit it-not only over her face color but also because she's just acting very off. Subaru didn't notice that she had opened her mouth to say something, and he just quickly said. "Forget it, dinners going to be soon." He didn't want to admit he tried to change the subject quick in order to try getting Rin inside-where there was a heater and someone else that could try talking sense into her.

However, Rin didn't quickly took a step forward-now being in his personal space-and looked suddenly serious-or at least an attempt at. "W-Wait, I need to tell you something else!"

Subaru was immediately taken off guard, but he was also a little relieved to see her being louder-a little more like herself. He quickly tried to hide away his emotions through another scowl as he looked down at her impatiently. "What then?"

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped halfway, and looked back down to the floor. Her ears were now turning red.

Feeling very impatient-anxious-Subaru leaned closer to her. "Hurry up!"

She quickly took a step back from him, and her ears were now turning red. "Give me a minute!" She yelled up at him.

Subaru tried to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from snapping at her anymore, and he _tried_ to be patient with her. Which was only getting harder to do the longer she just left them both in silence.

 _Eventually_ Rin quickly turned around to have her whole back face Subaru. For a moment he thought that she was about to walk away from him-which would have only annoyed him even further. "Turn around!"

"Huh?!"

"J-Just turn around! I can't say it with you looking at me!"

Reluctantly, he just turned around, but he was still trying to keep himself from getting angry.

"...Did you turn around?"

"Yes!"

"..." Once again, there was silence; and, once again, he had to keep himself patient. "... L-Look at the chocolate!"

He kept himself from questioning her and just looked down at the weirdly worded chocolate. "I'm looking."

"... I… Um… I-I-"

Finally losing it, Subaru just quickly looked behind him-at her trembling back. "Oi, what the hell-!"

"I LIKE YOU *****! R-ROMANTICALLY!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * For those of you who are unfamiliar with Japanese, there are (I think) three different ways to say "I Love You". This is in order to preserve the meaning of the word "love". Now, I like writing suffixes like "san" or "kun", but I don't want to be putting Japanese words all over the place, because then it gets messy and then you have to look up what those words mean. So, I'll just explain here that what Rin just said is "Daisuki" (Again, I think, correct me if I'm wrong), and that is an "I Love You" That could be used for both a love interest and a close friend.


	11. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this need to be addressed. Since things are about to get more serious, I need to say this now. THIS IS FICTION! And in this FICTION the boys and Rin aren't normal, and kind of fucked up. So, when you read this, take into consideration that some of the things they might do or say could be taken as an unhealthy relationship, and therefore shouldn't be reflected onto real life. I will be straightforward here, even if the boys do care about her, the way they treat her sometimes could still be taken as a sort of abuse. Not to mention there could be toxic in their relationship. This could also be said about the way Rin attaches herself to them, and views herself. Like I said, this is FICTION, so you shouldn't reflect this too much on real life. PLEASE! Just try to enjoy it as a story about fucked up people, ok?

When Suzu left her alone in that room to think, the first thing she thought was that telling him would only be a burden. The _one_ thing she swore to herself she'd never be. Not to them… or anyone… Least of all Subaru… Besides, something like that wasn't that important to say. Her feelings were never that important, especially not to the extend where she had to tell others only for them to worry. She's always tried suppressing her emotions-the ones that would be a burden-so hiding this would only be the same.

With that she had first decided that it'd probably be best to just hide away these newly discovered feelings-that she began to realize have been there for a while-and just endure. As she was coming up with excuses to tell the silver haired boy, she realized she had a letter to read; Akiko's letter. While she was reading it, she felt a mix of emotions. She felt frustrated for that to be how the red head saw herself. She felt pity that she had to go through that. She even felt a little bashful to hear how much she apparently cared about her. She also felt admiration, for Akiko to have seen where this has gone before but still found it in herself to tell Rin.

And, truth be told, being told that you were liked did make someone feel a little good. Even if you knew you had to turn that person down. With that Rin looked back to her own situation again.

More than anything-absolutely _anything_ -Rin didn't want to be a burden or weight to anyone. The last thing she wanted was to oppose her feelings onto anyone if it really wasn't necessary-Rin hated all things unnecessary. However, she felt a tightening in her chest as she thought of what Akiko said in her letter, about leaving the person you liked in the dark. It would be worse for Subaru, she _lived_ with him, and spent good amounts of her time with him. She wouldn't be able to stand the guilt of forcing him to spend time with her if she knew it was for such an indecent reason.

Not to mention, there was a nice feeling to being told someone liked you, and she wanted to see if she could make Subaru feel the same niceness. She wouldn't demand anything from him-so as to save him the trouble of worrying about rejecting her-and she would simply want him to know. Especially since… It would probably make him feel better.

So, Rin decided she should tell him, out of both guilt and need to please.

She wouldn't ask for anything, and she would try to make it as un-stressful as possible.

. . . So then why was he taking it badly!?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Rin was curled up on her bed with a soured look on her face. When she'd finally got herself enough control to up and say it to him, she waited a whole ten seconds for _something_. When she was only given silence she looked behind her… and he up _and disappeared!_ She didn't know whether to be concerned or _completely and utterly annoyed!_ When she went to the dining table for dinner, she saw that he wasn't there either.

Ten minutes into dinner, Reiji even told one of the servants to just throw out his food- "If he wants to eat he can dig through the trash." Rin just sat through dinner as she quickly ate her food-eating through her feelings-and listened to silence-since the boys hardly ever talked unless she asked questions. When she was done she quickly got up-thanked Reiji for dinner with a smile-and left to retreat dinner.

A part of her wanted to go to Subaru's room to demand why he up and left, but… by then she'd cooled down and instead guilt began to boil up. So, she instead just went to her room. Now she was laying on top of her dark purple covers-Reiji would be mad since she hasn't showered yet-staring up at the ceiling. However, she wasn't really thinking of the deep blue wall, she was lost in her doubt.

'Did I make the wrong decision?' She had hoped that telling him would be better than not, but now she was beginning to think it was all a big mistake. At first she was upset that he'd up and left while she was waiting for… she doesn't even know _what_ … but now… Now Rin felt herself being consumed in her own guilt. She kept thinking to herself 'I shouldn't have done that' or 'why would I do that.' She was petrified under the idea that now she'd done something wrong that she couldn't undo.

The one thing, the _one_ thing, she told herself she would never do-that she would never _be_ -and she went and ruined that with just a few words… She curled up tighter into herself, and she felt a built up behind her eyes being formed. This only made her feel worse, because there were few things that she hated more than crying.

No matter how much she bit down on her lip she couldn't keep those hated tears from streaming down her face. 'I should have kept my mouth shut.'

. . . . . . . . . . . .

A knock broke through the silence, and Rin looked up from her phone to look at her door curiously. A sudden rush swept over her that made a cold chill run up and down her spine. Hesitantly, she got up to her feet, slid her phone back in her pocket, and walked over to her door. With a shaking hand she turned the knob and opened it just enough to see who it was.

Relief swept over her and she opened the door wider. She looked up curiously at the person on the other side of the door; but right before she could ask why they were there, she was grabbed by a pair of hands and picked up and pressed against a familiar chest. She inwardly groaned as she felt this hug she was used to at this point.

"Riiiin-chaaan~! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long~." She felt the whine vibrate through his chest and just put on a weak smile as her eyes looked defeated.

"Hi Laito-kun." She said very blankly. She did love Laito, he was her family, but this got very annoying very fast. Rin wasn't that big a fan of physical affection, but physical affection was _all_ Laito was.

Finally-oh _finally_ -Laito put her back down on her feet, and he didn't wait for a single word from her before walking right into her door. Already used to this behavior, she just walked him take a seat on the couch to the right of her bed as she began to slowly close her door.

"Ne, Rin-chan?" Laito lightly purred in the way she was used to hearing. Her only response was a slight-unconscious-tilt of her head. "I'm a little thirsty, can you go get us something to drink?"

Rin gave him a slightly deadpan look to the question. " _You_ came in, and _you_ can teleport." She said blankly.

Laito let out a dramatic sigh as he made a hurt look-that she knew was exaggerated. "I haven't seen my little Rin-chan in a while, and I finally take some time to sit down and talk to you. I was hoping you'd be at least a little kind."

Rin felt herself inwardly flinch at that. She knew Laito was only joking, and probably didn't mean it… But… She sighed herself-not for dramatic effect. "Laito-kun, you're such a handful." Was all she said as she reopened the door to go down to the kitchen-feeling a slight weight in her chest.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Laito knew Rin-chan was too sweet to deny something so simple, so he lightly smiled to himself as he watched the tiny thing walk out the door and close it behind her. With that he looked down at the smart phone with a high quality, black case. He pressed the little button-saw the random anime art screensaver-and clicked again to be shown the password screen. Finding out her password was easy-he'd known since she'd last changed it because he knew how to sneak around her-it was almost as easy as sneaking her phone out of her pocket.

He punched in the name-to which he assumed also had to do with her anime-and he was presented with the last thing she was one. It was a search engine sight, and he stared hardly at the words typed in with a smile.

Rin had searched: " _how do you take back a confession"_.

This was no surprise to him, he'd actually been waiting to see when she'd confess to one of them. It was also clear who'd she'd confessed to, for there was only one other person in the house that was acting weirder than usual. He smiled in glee as he saw just where this all was heading.

Rin was his precious little thing, always so cute and small, so one would expect that he'd be upset to see she was looking towards someone else. However, Laito really didn't mind, so long as it stayed in the house that was. All the boys agreed-that is without having to say a word they all knew they agreed-that Rin isn't allowed to make bonds outside this family. She could talk to people sure-like that cute little redhead she likes to chat with, but that's only to get her to think she _can_ talk to whoever she wants. In reality, everyone makes sure that she doesn't look too long at anyone she's not supposed to. At the end of the day, Rin belonged to all of them.

Laito was still contemplating whether or not he'd want to soil her-it's odd in the first place that he had to wonder about it-but until he made up his mind he didn't mind her being ruined by someone else. That is, so long as he can still play with her in the ways he always has.

So, if he wanted to get Rin to stop confining herself up in her room in order to avoid someone, he'd have to get whatever this is to move along.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Rin was about to try opening the door-despite holding a tray with one cup of tea and one cup of milk-but instead the door was opened for her by Laito. Only slightly surprised that he knew she was there without being able to see her through the door, Rin just smiled up at him. "Thanks." She quickly-but not too quickly or else she'd put all of Reiji's lessons to shame-walked over to the couch area and put the tray down on the table. With a sigh, she all but fell back onto the couch.

She didn't think too much when she felt Laito lightly tug on her hair, she just turned her back to him because she knew exactly what he was asking. Laito carefully undid the messy ponytail that Rin had on, and began to braid it with the same amount of care. Rin never really understood why Laito liked to braid her hair so much, _she_ didn't even like brushing her mess of curls. Either way, she gave into the familiar sensation, and she dug her hand in her pocket to… to… 'Where's my phone?'

"Are you looking for this, Rin-chan?" Laito's voice was followed by her phone hanging in front of her face. "You left it on your bed. You're so careless~."

'I thought I put it in my pocket.' She just shrugged it off, knowing fully well that she was one to misplace her things. "Thanks." She grabbed her phone.

She was just about to turn it on and look through downloading books to read while Laito did this, but she was stopped by a question. "Rin, have you been avoiding us lately?"

It took everything not to flinch at the accusation, and to quickly answer without a shaking voice. "No. Why would you say that?"

"I just haven't seen you as much. You're usually up to wave us out the door, and you're usually waiting for us at the gates when school is over. Why haven't you recently?"

There was a slight drop in Laito's voice, and Rin couldn't tell whether or not it was fake. If it wasn't forged sadness, she felt a sudden wave of guilt. She never expected that her selfish desire to see them as soon as possible, would become something they'd expect. "I've just been feeling tired. Maybe it's because it's getting warmer, or maybe I'm getting my period."

Next thing she knew, Laito had moved his nose right to her ear and gave a gentle sniff. This made Rin shiver and jump up. A hand clasped to her ear as she quickly looked over her shoulder to look at his smiling face-as she felt color drain from her own. "Not yet~."

She frowned deeply at that. "That's gross Laito-kun." She was also pretty sure he couldn't sniff out those things.

"I'm only joking Rin-chan~."

'Well it's a weird joke.' She just sighed and she faced forward again-she felt his hands grab at her hair again. "You're weird."

She heard a chuckle come from him as he went back his work on her hair. "I just miss you Rin-chan~."

It felt somewhat nice to hear that from him, but not completely. She could never really take compliments to heart, it only felt weird to hear them in the first place. Either way she just put on a smile-even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Sorry." She said unseriously.

A small silence took over the room, and it unnerved her a bit. Not for any reason other than she just didn't like silences. When it was finally broken, she wished it'd just stayed silent. "Now that I think about it, Subaru-kun has been acting pretty odd lately."

She couldn't keep herself from flinching that time, and she inwardly cursed herself. It's been five days since she'd confessed, and she'd kept herself in the room most of the time, and even went to dinner late-much to Reiji's annoyance-just so she wouldn't run into him… Guilt and regret washed over her in remembering that it was her own fault things have gotten awkward now… More than anything she wished she could take it back because these five days have felt much longer than that… "That so." Was all she could bring herself to say.

Another silence hung over them both, and Rin now felt even more uneasy as she thought about that. He said "odd" but he was not specific to what that meant, so Rin was lost into trying to figure out what that meant. As she contemplated over the different possibilities, she felt more and more guilt weld up in her that it almost hurt. She lightly pressed her lips together as she hoped that Laito couldn't see her distress.

Then, she felt arms wrap around her from behind and pull her close to a torso. Once again, she was begrudgingly used to this, but-more than usual-she didn't want it as she felt a painful swelling in her chest. Before she could say a protest, a voice spoke up. "Rin-chan, you like funny things right?"

'. . . That's random.' "Yeah, sure." Of course she liked funny things, she couldn't imagine anyone that didn't like to laugh.

"Well, there's this odd thing people at school are doing nowadays. It's a way to get rid of the awkward tension after confessing." With that, Rin's eyes snapped open and she looked up to see Laito's usual smile. A curious look went to his eyes as he looked down at her. "Something wrong, Rin-chan?"

She felt her face go pale as she realized she reacted too much, and she quickly tried to put back on a smile. "I just thought something like that wouldn't catch your interest." She quickly tried to cover herself up with the lie-she hated lying because it always put a foul taste in her mouth. She settled herself back down as she listened closely to what Laito said.

The "thing" he said was odd, but to be fair Rin had no experience with romance-she read it sure but she's never had to deal with it. So, she couldn't tell if her judgement in it was valid or not. "...Laito-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Would that even work?" She tried to keep her voice as even as possible.

There was a slight pause before he tightened his grip around her torso. "I'm sure it will, if it's by Rin-chan~."

Her face flared up brightly at that and she snapped her head around to ask where that accusation came from. However, he was gone-along with his hold on her. Annoyed and confused, Rin thought about how it was almost unsettling how he seemed to know things sometimes.

She noticed her cup of milk still on the table and drank it gingerly-to try calming her nerves. After finishing it in one gulp she sighed and put it back down. With her mind rushing, she didn't have enough time to wonder why he'd asked for a drink if he didn't even drink it.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

_"I LIKE YOU! R-ROMANTICALLY!"_

_Subaru was immediately taken off guard by those words, so much so that he didn't even notice the presence near him. Before he knew what to do, he felt a hand cover his mouth and he was immediately somewhere else. It was the familiar feeling of teleporting, but it was aggravating because he knew he wasn't the one to do it._

_Just as he was going to shove away the hand that was covering his mouth, it was already gone. He quickly looked behind him and saw that the one who'd done it was looking at him coldly, but he couldn't hold back his anger even from that gaze. "What the he-!"_

" _What were you going to say?" The blonde quickly cut him off with an unusually stern voice. This was not the tone Subaru was used to hearing from the eldest son._

_At the question, Subaru was ready to yell something,_ anything _, but he couldn't think of anything. Rin's confession had shaken him, and to suddenly be somewhere else against his will and being questioned about it was too much too fast to think. However, his silence wasn't good enough, for Shuu continued to stare coldly._

_Forced to think about it, Subaru couldn't think of anything. This was too much. It was all too much to try thinking over. He didn't know how to wrap his head around what was even told to him in the first place. 'Like?' What did she mean 'like?' Why would she ever say that to him in the first place. So lost in wondering, Subaru could only bring himself to say: "I don't know." His brows furrowed together in frustration as his eyes looked out to see there was a window to his side, but it was covered by drapes and curtains._

_Silence took over, and-as he got lost in his own hectic thoughts-Subaru began to slowly forget there was someone else in the room with him. His thoughts were hectic and unorganized, he didn't even know what he was thinking anymore. The only thing that was certain in his mind, was that it was filled with nothing but Rin. But, not in the best way, for every thought of her only made him more confused and… and…_ he didn't know!

" _I read Reiji's letters to that man. I know what's been wrong with you lately." Shuu's voice broke through the crazed thoughts._

_At first, Subaru had no idea what he was talking about, but as the pieces slowly feel together, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He'd almost forgotten, and remembering only made this whole situation feel much worse. "I wasn't planning to… Shit!" His hand ran through his hair. 'What the hell is this fucking situation?!' He screamed in his head._

" _...If you do something to her, I'll tear you to pieces."_

_Those words made Subaru flinch, and he bit down harshly at his lip. He didn't bother replying back because he knew the blond was already gone._

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It's already been five days, and Subaru still didn't know what to do about this. He didn't even know how this happened. All he'd managed to do was repeat what she'd told him over and over in his head, and there was still nothing but disbelief that washed over him by those words. It just didn't make sense, why would those words be pointed at him in the first place? Why would she of all people say that to _him_?

The more those words confused him the more frustrated he got because it made him more lost on what he was supposed to do know! She'd given him the fucking chocolate that said she didn't want to date him, so was he supposed to ignore her? Was she pulling something… no… No she wouldn't be that red or that weird if she was only pranking him. But, her being serious made even less sense.

None of this fit. None of this felt right. She wasn't _supposed_ to say something like that to him. She wasn't _supposed_ to say that to _any_ of them for that matter. They were all _monsters_ -him especially-so any of them had the capability to break her. Any of them could easily snap her in half, the only thing that has protected her up until now was that blood of hers… Now… Now there was more reason to worry.

What made this whole situation worse was that he-

His thought were stopped at the sound of a knock at his door.


End file.
